Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,227,543 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $315,220,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.38% of Chipotle Mexican Grill as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,080,978 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,612,682,000 after purchasing an additional 438,007 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,661,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $805,692,000 after buying an additional 381,873 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter valued at $692,701,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,830,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $566,439,000 after buying an additional 518,521 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,488,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $511,865,000 after acquiring an additional 288,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $51.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.06. The company has a market capitalization of $69.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.98 and a fifty-two week high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 42.92% and a net margin of 13.56%. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CMG. Citigroup lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill 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.