Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Trading 0.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) shares rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $2,350.00 to $2,700.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Chipotle Mexican Grill traded as high as $2,946.86 and last traded at $2,942.33. Approximately 160,565 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 273,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2,936.63.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CMG. Wedbush boosted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,400.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,450.00 to $2,550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,600.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $2,900.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,246.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,719.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,622.25, for a total transaction of $2,354,780.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,420.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,071,093.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,793 shares of company stock valued at $18,321,152. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chipotle Mexican Grill

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 283,203 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $518,780,000 after buying an additional 13,513 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 95 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.54 billion, a PE ratio of 65.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2,772.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,375.00.

Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly created shares will be issued 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.29 EPS. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.38 EPS 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.