Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 381,873 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,661,937 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 381,873 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $805,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMG. RiverPark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,525.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

CMG stock opened at $66.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 61.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.05 and its 200 day moving average is $80.92. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $44.08 and a one year high of $69.26.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 43.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 15,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $898,537.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 457,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,115,436.20. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CMG shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a 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 $65.71.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.