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

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,095,508 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 417,770 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $120,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 22.8% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 156,250 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,921,000 after buying an additional 29,018 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.1% in the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 40,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 31.9% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,032.6% during the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 144,640 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,334,000 after purchasing an additional 141,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,196,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $68,918,000 after buying an additional 274,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CMG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.55.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

NYSE:CMG opened at $61.87 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $60.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.59, a PEG 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.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 457,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,115,436.20. The trade was a 3.33 % 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.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.