Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Trading Up 1.8%

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares shot up 1.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.65 and last traded at $62.53. 5,089,698 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 13,395,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $73.36 to $77.76 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $54.00 to $65.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.53. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 65.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 43.74%. Analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,133,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,221,620.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $3,509,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 120,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,694,665.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 320,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.72, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,133,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,221,620.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 550,750 shares of company stock worth $35,023,769. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMG. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.5% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.2% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,202,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 130.3% in the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,202,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.3% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,014 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 362.7% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,539 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,969,000 after buying an additional 9,829 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.