AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 6,990.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,283,792 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,251,582 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $143,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CMG. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,732.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,177,309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,264,109,000 after purchasing an additional 19,759,754 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5,930.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,310,132 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $645,930,000 after purchasing an additional 10,139,174 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,816.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,356,173 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $523,514,000 after purchasing an additional 8,186,198 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 76,617.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,904,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $369,945,000 after purchasing an additional 5,897,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4,565.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,078,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $318,185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 17,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.68, for a total value of $951,103.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 358,300 shares in the company, valued at $19,591,844. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis E. Garner sold 17,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.68, for a total value of $951,103.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 358,300 shares in the company, valued at $19,591,844. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin S. Hickenlooper sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total transaction of $100,920.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,333.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,934 shares of company stock worth $1,918,589. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 0.8 %

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $58.40 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.37 and a 52-week high of $69.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.30 and a 200-day moving average of $81.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.31, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.25.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The restaurant operator reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 44.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $12.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMG. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.36.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile

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.