Nicholas Company Inc. Decreases Holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 351,690 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,081,680 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $13,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 475,672 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $18,642,000 after acquiring an additional 47,241 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter worth about $1,597,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,967,000. Crescent Park Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,911,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 269.6% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 379,886 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,888,000 after acquiring an additional 277,090 shares during the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CMG. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.03.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CMG opened at $32.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.71. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.75 and a 12-month high of $58.42.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 49.64% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

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.