National Pension Service Grows Holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 190,343 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 3.18 million shares valued at $159.6 million.
• Chipotle's earnings per share for the latest quarter was reported at $0.33, slightly above analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $3.06 billion, reflecting a 3.0% year-over-year growth.
• Investment analysts currently have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Chipotle, with an average price target of $60.61, significantly adjusted from previous higher projections.

National Pension Service grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,179,502 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 190,343 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.24% of Chipotle Mexican Grill worth $159,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 33.8% during the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 25,795 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 6,518 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 28.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,635,442 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $132,315,000 after buying an additional 578,520 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11.1% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 57,100 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,867,000 after buying an additional 5,722 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.3% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 430,797 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $21,611,000 after buying an additional 29,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 73.7% during the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 75,006 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,766,000 after buying an additional 31,821 shares in the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CMG shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,457,805.50. The trade was a 50.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 2.0%

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.04. 19,039,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,187,636. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.18 and a fifty-two week high of $66.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 43.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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.