Empirical Finance LLC Reduces Stock Position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,671 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 13,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.2% in the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.6% in the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 31,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,840,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 14.4% during the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,430 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CMG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cfra upgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $73.00 in a report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.31.

Insider Transactions at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, insider Laurie Schalow sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $286,304.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,078,337.92. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of CMG opened at $57.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.27. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.98 and a 1 year high of $69.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.86.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

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.