Cerity Partners LLC Sells 164,656 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 288,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 164,656 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $9,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,857,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,372,718 shares in the last quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 10,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Old West Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 395,161 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $12,199,000 after buying an additional 39,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 706,198 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $21,792,000 after buying an additional 66,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CNQ. Raymond James raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.40. 1,438,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,422,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.65. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $39.37.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.4117 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).