Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 63.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,637,669 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 2,830,823 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $50,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,857,337,000 after buying an additional 7,372,718 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,002,235 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,778,729,000 after purchasing an additional 456,814 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 36,963,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,139,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,700 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,052,775 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,051,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,580,717 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $973,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464,807 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:CNQ traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.91. 471,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,765,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $66.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $37.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.36.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 20.90%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.4227 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CNQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources 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).