Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 417,770 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,095,508 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 417,770 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $120,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMG. RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,525.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

CMG opened at $61.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $44.08 and a one year high of $69.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.95.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.20% and a net margin of 13.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total value of $898,537.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.