Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. $CMG Stock Sold by Sullivan Wood Capital Management LLC

Sullivan Wood Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 19,850 shares during the period. Chipotle Mexican Grill accounts for about 2.5% of Sullivan Wood Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sullivan Wood Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $1,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,596 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.5% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 12,708 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. ANB Bank grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.8% in the first quarter. ANB Bank now owns 6,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 10.9% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,759 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.9% in the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 13,275 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 91.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Chipotle Mexican Grill News

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Thursday. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.47.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Up 9.1%

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.33. 42,432,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,084,094. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.21. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.31 and a 52-week high of $41.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In other news, insider Matthew R. Bush sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $765,586.25. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile

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.