Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 3,609,537 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 98.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,318 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 3,609,537 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNQ. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,165 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,530,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNQ. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.5%

CNQ traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.42. 12,283,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,695,099. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $30.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.91. The stock has a market cap of $69.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.03.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.4227 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

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).