Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 392,070 Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Key Points

• Whittier Trust sold 392,070 shares, trimming its Chipotle stake by 90.7%, leaving it with 40,430 shares worth about $1.56 million at the end of the quarter.
• Institutional ownership is very high (91.3%), and major funds — including Capital World Investors, Capital International and Vanguard — materially increased their CMG positions in recent quarters.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $47.13 target, though some brokers (Wells Fargo, RBC) cut targets to $45; the stock trades near $35.71 after a slight quarterly EPS beat and carries a trailing P/E around 31.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG - Free Report) by 90.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,430 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 392,070 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CMG. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 122.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 87,844,788 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,442,645,000 after purchasing an additional 48,398,628 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 42.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 38,497,927 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,509,043,000 after purchasing an additional 11,471,658 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,927,338 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,935,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470,213 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 24.7% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,433,637 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $448,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 128.4% in the third quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 3,843,687 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $150,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,598 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CMG. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Monday, March 9th. Gordon Haskett lowered Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered Chipotle Mexican Grill from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.13.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE CMG opened at $35.71 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.37. The company has a market cap of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.75 and a twelve month high of $58.42.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm 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 business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 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.

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