Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 43,438 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 25.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,765 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 43,438 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $7,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 47,410 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter worth about $17,693,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 139.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 9,270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 5,396 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3,133.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 66,453,578 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,259,422,000 after buying an additional 64,398,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $311,000. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $765,586.25. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 2.3%

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $37.05 on Tuesday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.03 and a 12 month high of $42.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $35.17 and its 200-day moving average is $33.89. The company has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 54.65% and a net margin of 11.43%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.84.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc is a fast-casual restaurant company that operates restaurants under the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand. Its menu centers on customizable Mexican-inspired food, including burritos, bowls, tacos and salads, along with sides, beverages and children's meals.

The company emphasizes cooking with responsibly sourced ingredients and preparing food in its restaurants. Customers can order meals in person, through digital ordering channels, for pickup or delivery. Chipotle serves customers primarily in the United States, with additional restaurants in Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Chipotle was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells in Denver, Colorado.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.