Ethic Inc. Sells 8,196 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. sold 8,196 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, reducing its stake by 5.0% to a total of 156,910 shares valued at $8,108,000.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their holdings, with Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increasing its position by a significant 525.5% during the same quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Chipotle, with an average price target of $60.22, indicating potential growth despite recent target downgrades from multiple firms.

Ethic Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,910 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 8,196 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $8,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,979,637 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $450,868,000 after purchasing an additional 491,002 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 47.6% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 31,764 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the first quarter valued at $7,773,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.3% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,276,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $64,086,000 after purchasing an additional 52,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 525.5% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,236 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,133,000 after purchasing an additional 85,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CMG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Eight 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.22.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $44.04 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.18 and a twelve month high of $66.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 109,815 shares in the company, valued at $5,457,805.50. The trade was a 50.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% 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.

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