Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG Stock Position Raised by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 2,237.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 164,581 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $5,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CMG. Gordon Haskett lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Thursday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.47.

Trending Headlines about Chipotle Mexican Grill

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 9.6% to $3.29 billion, in line with expectations, while comparable-restaurant sales increased 2.1% and transactions grew for the third consecutive quarter. Value offers and limited-time menu items helped attract diners. Chipotle beats quarterly sales expectations on resilient demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors responded favorably to signs of a traffic recovery following earlier food-safety concerns. New menu launches, refreshed loyalty benefits and plans to accelerate technology and menu innovation are supporting the turnaround. Chipotle Sales Beat as New Chicken, Chips Bring Diners Back
• Positive Sentiment: Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants during the quarter, and its loyalty program surpassed 24 million members, providing additional long-term growth and customer-engagement potential. Chipotle: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings, including DA Davidson and BTIG Research at $45 targets and Oppenheimer at a $51 target, implying substantial upside based on the supplied reference price. Oppenheimer analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed: Citigroup kept a Buy rating while cutting its target to $41, whereas BNP Paribas Exane retained Neutral and reduced its target to $36. Bernstein also lowered its target to $43 from $50. Citigroup price target
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.27 per share, below the $0.29 consensus and last year’s $0.29, as higher operating costs, beef prices and increased protein usage pressured margins. Chipotle Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook calls for only modestly higher sales, leaving investors dependent on the fourth-quarter brisket launch, continued traffic gains and successful cost management to sustain the recovery. The rest of Chipotle’s year hinges on brisket

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 9.1%

Shares of NYSE:CMG traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.33. 42,432,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,084,094. The company has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a one year low of $27.31 and a one year high of $41.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.21.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 54.65% and a net margin of 11.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $95,631.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,586.25. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE: CMG) operates a chain of fast-casual restaurants focused on Mexican-inspired food. Its menu includes burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, with options such as chicken, steak, barbacoa, carnitas, sofritas and vegetables. The company emphasizes preparing food in its restaurants from ingredients it describes as responsibly sourced, including meats raised with attention to animal welfare and produce from selected suppliers.

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado.