Independent Advisor Alliance Trims Stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 13.9%, selling 11,467 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 71,004 shares worth approximately $3.57 million.
• Several other institutional investors increased their positions in Chipotle, with notable increases from Banco Santander S.A. by 47.6% and Jefferies Financial Group, which raised its stake by an impressive 525.5%.
• Analysts have issued varied ratings on Chipotle, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.71 per share, following recent reductions in price targets by several firms.

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,004 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,467 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $3,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the first quarter valued at about $535,023,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,138,574.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 8,318,735 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $501,620,000 after purchasing an additional 8,318,534 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 98.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,900,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $497,105,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903,969 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 114.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 8,986,971 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $541,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,790,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,319.7% in the first quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,848,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $235,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,759,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus cut Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Melius assumed coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.37.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CMG traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.66. 6,631,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,105,133. The company has a market cap of $58.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $41.18 and a one year high of $66.74. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $50.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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.