Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 4,903,969 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 98.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,900,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,903,969 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $497,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ithaka Group LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.9% in the first quarter. Ithaka Group LLC now owns 302,024 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $15,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,580 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 20.2% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 36,576 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 6,156 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 87,160.4% during the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 96,859 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 96,748 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $5,659,587.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,457,805.50. This represents a 50.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.47. The stock had a trading volume of 22,568,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,007,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $41.43 and a one year high of $66.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $51.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.64.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMG. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.71.

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.