Franklin Resources Inc. Has $100.65 Million Position in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,262,749 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 34,930 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $100,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $13,700,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,982 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 296,424 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after acquiring an additional 17,694 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $136,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,492 shares during the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.4 %

CNQ stock opened at $31.43 on Thursday. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a twelve month low of $25.62 and a twelve month high of $41.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $66.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.11.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.4117 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is currently 77.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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).