Martin Currie Ltd. Acquires 45,100 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Key Points

• Martin Currie Ltd. increased its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 8.1% during Q1, owning a total of 599,440 shares valued at approximately $30 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in Chipotle, leading to 91.31% of the company's stock being held by institutional funds.
• Chipotle reported earnings of $0.33 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue reached $3.06 billion, a 3% increase year-over-year.

Martin Currie Ltd. grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 599,440 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 45,100 shares during the quarter. Chipotle Mexican Grill accounts for about 1.2% of Martin Currie Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $30,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 122,463,327 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,148,884,000 after buying an additional 1,597,287 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,443,085 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $870,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438,860 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the first quarter valued at approximately $535,023,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,277,656 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $619,743,000 after buying an additional 2,006,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 98.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,900,521 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $497,105,000 after buying an additional 4,903,969 shares during the last quarter. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius initiated 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. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial cut 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.22.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

CMG traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.04. 19,039,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,392,978. The company's fifty day moving average price is $50.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.10. The company has a market cap of $59.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.05. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $41.18 and a one year high of $66.74.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Roger E. Theodoredis sold 113,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $5,659,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 109,815 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,457,805.50. This represents a 50.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.