AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.6%, now owning approximately 1.53 million shares valued at $75.4 million.
• Multiple brokerages have set new price targets for Chipotle, with TD Securities maintaining a "buy" rating and a target of $57.00, while Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage with a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill reported earnings of $0.33 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate and showing a 3.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,533,656 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 24,269 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $75,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 32.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,368 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,784,000 after buying an additional 18,458 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,281,138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $364,639,000 after buying an additional 760,928 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.8% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,741,450 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $87,438,000 after buying an additional 80,200 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.2% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 155,532 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $7,809,000 after buying an additional 9,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 68.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,932 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CMG. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Melius began coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.76.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.69. 7,115,901 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,392,720. The company has a market cap of $51.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.64 and a 200-day moving average of $49.39. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.76 and a 12 month high of $66.74.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 43.50% and a net margin of 13.32%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.