Kera Capital Partners Inc. Has $7.98 Million Stock Holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 13.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 249,227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,419 shares during the quarter. Chipotle Mexican Grill makes up 1.0% of Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $7,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter worth about $711,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 18,660,882 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 101,688,010 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,762,457,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843,222 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,447,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,162,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,237,720 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMG has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, June 5th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

Trending Headlines about Chipotle Mexican Grill

Here are the key news stories impacting Chipotle Mexican Grill this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle and Wendy’s said their restaurants were not affected by the cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to lettuce at some Taco Bell locations, easing fears that the issue would spread to other fast-casual chains. Reuters article on cyclosporiasis outbreak
• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Mexico, a long-awaited international debut that could expand the brand’s growth runway and support sentiment around future store growth. Reuters article on Mexico debut
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentary pieces framed CMG as having improving traffic and rewards growth, but also noted that valuation and margin pressure remain key debates for the stock. Yahoo Finance comparison article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary said Chipotle still looks fully priced after its recent decline, suggesting valuation may limit upside even after the recent rebound. Yahoo Finance valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: At least one market update said Chipotle underperformed peers on Thursday, reinforcing that the stock has been volatile and is still recovering from a sharp year-to-date slide. MarketWatch underperformance article

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $34.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.90. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.03 and a twelve month high of $54.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill 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.