T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 268,620 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 267.6%, owning 368,990 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill's stock shows a one year high of $66.74 and a market capitalization of $58.44 billion, with recent earnings exceeding estimates at $0.33 EPS.
• Analyst price targets for Chipotle vary, with UBS Group raising their target to $65.00, while Raymond James reduced theirs to $56.00, indicating differing expectations for future performance.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 267.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 368,990 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 268,620 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $18,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 124.2% in the first quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 135,924 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,825,000 after purchasing an additional 75,300 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 296,213 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $14,885,000 after buying an additional 103,854 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 235,914 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $11,845,000 after buying an additional 67,943 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,556,643 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $178,003,000 after buying an additional 529,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK grew its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank OZK now owns 68,785 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,454,000 after buying an additional 9,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,457,805.50. This trade represents a 50.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of CMG stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.72. 7,911,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,171,245. The firm has a market cap of $57.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.18 and a fifty-two week high of $66.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.37.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CMG. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.22.

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.