Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires New Stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG

Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 506,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,417,475,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in 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 worth $3,762,457,000 after buying an additional 13,843,222 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,447,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,162,572,000 after buying an additional 9,237,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,294,212 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,675,895,000 after buying an additional 6,796,285 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

NYSE:CMG opened at $36.84 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.96. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $28.03 and a one year high of $43.72. The firm has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.94.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 54.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CMG shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Friday, July 31st. Argus increased their price objective on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens restated a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.16.

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.