Carderock Capital Management Inc. Sells 84,637 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Key Points

• Carderock Capital Management cut its stake in Chipotle by 93.2% in Q4, selling 84,637 shares and retaining just 6,194 shares worth about $229,000.
• Large institutions have been active—Capital World Investors now holds ~87.8M shares after adding ~48.4M, Vanguard owns ~125.9M shares, and Norges Bank opened a ~$1.0B position; institutional investors own ~91.3% of the stock.
• Analysts give Chipotle a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $47.47 (24 Buy / 10 Hold / 1 Sell), and the company slightly beat Q4 estimates with $0.25 EPS vs $0.24 and $2.98B revenue, while the stock trades around $33.36 (52‑week range $29.75–$58.42).

Carderock Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 93.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,194 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 84,637 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 87,844,788 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,442,645,000 after buying an additional 48,398,628 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth $1,001,668,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 38,497,927 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,509,043,000 after acquiring an additional 11,471,658 shares during the period. BlueSpruce Investments LP raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 24,760.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP now owns 3,930,732 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $220,711,000 after acquiring an additional 3,914,921 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,927,338 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,935,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470,213 shares during the period. 91.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.47.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $33.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.14. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.75 and a 52 week high of $58.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.00.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 47.99% and a net margin of 12.88%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant company known for its Mexican-inspired menu of burritos, bowls, tacos and salads. Founded in 1993 by Steve Ells, the chain emphasizes fresh, customizable meals made from a limited menu of core ingredients and a focus on ingredient quality. Chipotle operates primarily company-owned restaurants and offers dine-in, takeout, catering and delivery through its own digital platforms and third-party partners.

The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, and traces its roots to Denver, Colorado.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CMG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report).

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.