Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE) insider Curtis E. Garner recently sold 17,394 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction took place on Tuesday, August 6th, at an average price of $54.68 per share, totaling approximately $951,103.92.
Following this sale, Garner now directly owns 358,300 shares in the company, with an estimated value of $19.6 million. The transaction details were disclosed in a legal filing available through the Securities & Exchange Commission’s website.
Chipotle Stock Experiences Slight Decline
On Thursday, Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $53.63, reflecting a 0.8% decrease. The company currently has a market capitalization of $73.65 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 57.05, a price/earnings-to-growth (P/E/G) ratio of 2.23, and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 52-week range shows a low of $35.37 and a high of $69.26. The 50-day simple moving average is $123.77, and the 200-day simple moving average is $80.16.
Strong Quarterly Performance
Chipotle last released its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported earnings of $0.34 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.32 by $0.02. The restaurant chain recorded a return on equity of 44.01% and a net margin of 13.23%. The revenue for the quarter was $2.97 billion, slightly above the anticipated $2.94 billion. This represents an 18.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Analysts predict that Chipotle will achieve earnings of $1.09 per share by the end of the year.
Analysts’ Views on Chipotle
Analysts have been closely watching Chipotle’s stock. Recently, Evercore ISI lowered its target price from $72.00 to $65.00 but maintained an “outperform” rating. BTIG Research increased its target price from $65.00 to $67.00 and issued a “buy” rating. Similarly, KeyCorp adjusted its target price from $68.00 to $66.00, rating the stock as “overweight.” Morgan Stanley also raised its price target from $59.72 to $62.00, labeling it as “equal weight.” TD Cowen reduced its price target from $72.00 to $65.00, but still rated the stock as a “buy.” According to MarketBeat data, Chipotle currently holds an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $62.88.
Institutional Investors And Hedge Funds Show Interest
Institutional investors and hedge funds have been actively trading Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock. American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its holdings by 4,732.3% in the second quarter, now owning over 20 million shares valued at $1.26 billion. Bank of New York Mellon Corp also raised its stake by 4,816.1%, owning over 8 million shares worth $523.5 million. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings by 4,260.5%, with a total of 3.13 million shares valued at $196.2 million. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC saw a 3,988.6% increase, now holding nearly 3 million shares worth $187.7 million. Vanguard Group Inc. also grew its position slightly, now holding 2.73 million shares valued at approximately $7.94 billion. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stock.