Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Trading 1.8% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)’s stock price shot up 1.8% on Wednesday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $3,668.00 to $3,888.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill traded as high as $3,463.07 and last traded at $3,427.61. 694,699 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 160% from the average session volume of 266,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3,365.46.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,350.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,400.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,250.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,400.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,358.00 to $3,369.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,201.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 6,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,185.92, for a total transaction of $20,409,003.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,221,620.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 2,509 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,164.44, for a total value of $7,939,579.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,433,417.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 6,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,185.92, for a total value of $20,409,003.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,669 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 quarter, insiders have sold 11,015 shares of company stock valued at $35,023,769. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 283,203 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $518,780,000 after purchasing an additional 13,513 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 95 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 34,755 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $63,665,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1,043.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,870,000 after acquiring an additional 9,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $94.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,130.47 and a 200-day moving average of $2,737.78.

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are scheduled to split on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, June 25th.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $13.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.63 by $1.74. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 55.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.