Westerkirk Capital Inc. Grows Holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Westerkirk Capital Inc. grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,250 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 76,200 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $6,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CMG. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 122.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 87,844,788 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,442,645,000 after buying an additional 48,398,628 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter valued at $711,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 144,588,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,349,764,000 after purchasing an additional 18,660,882 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 42.4% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 14,062,158 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $520,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,473,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CMG opened at $29.27 on Tuesday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.03 and a 12 month high of $58.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.22.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.48.

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.