Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CMG. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.70 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $74.60 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $64.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $61.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 65.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $35.37 and a one year high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $3,509,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 120,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,694,665.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Scott Boatwright sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $3,509,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 120,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,694,665.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 125,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.29, for a total value of $7,939,579.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,433,417.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 550,750 shares of company stock worth $35,023,769 in the last three months. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 1,451 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 25 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 474 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.