Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Takes Position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,487,584 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $692,701,000. Chipotle Mexican Grill comprises 3.8% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned 0.84% of Chipotle Mexican Grill as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 11,987.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 421,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,445,000 after purchasing an additional 418,488 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 141,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,530,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 347,794 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,972,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Finally, WT Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. WT Wealth Management now owns 41,324 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the period. 91.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $286,304.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

NYSE CMG opened at $53.43 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.98 and a 1 year high of $69.26. The company has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a PE ratio of 48.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.09.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 42.92%. On average, research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CMG shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cfra raised Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Chipotle Mexican Grill presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.31.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.