Banco Santander S.A. Buys 6,984 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,518 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,080,978 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,612,682,000 after acquiring an additional 438,007 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,661,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $805,692,000 after acquiring an additional 381,873 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter valued at $692,701,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,830,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $566,439,000 after acquiring an additional 518,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,488,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $511,865,000 after buying an additional 288,266 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

NYSE:CMG opened at $50.22 on Monday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.98 and a 1-year high of $69.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.47 and a 200 day moving average of $58.11. The firm has a market cap of $68.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 42.92%. Sell-side 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.