Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Shares Down 0.4%

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)’s share price was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $2,877.03 and last traded at $2,895.60. Approximately 66,641 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 229,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,907.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,600.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,016.00 to $3,358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,100.00 to $3,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,900.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $3,010.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,759.14.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $78.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,783.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,389.50.

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock is going to split on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, June 25th.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total value of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,071,093.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total transaction of $4,790,220.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,870,779.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total transaction of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares in the company, valued at $25,071,093.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,793 shares of company stock valued at $18,321,152 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 79.5% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.5% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 777 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 38.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in 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.