Smith Moore & CO. Increases Position in CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA)

Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in shares of CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,242 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in CAVA Group were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in CAVA Group by 36,658.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,461,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455,035 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CAVA Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,011,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,709,000 after buying an additional 1,357,187 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CAVA Group by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,222,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,492,000 after acquiring an additional 669,599 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CAVA Group in the fourth quarter valued at $64,538,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in CAVA Group in the fourth quarter valued at $59,516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brett Schulman sold 20,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $2,450,817.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 776,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,527,657.42. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Theodoros Xenohristos sold 851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $101,422.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 358,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,785,024.10. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,235 shares of company stock worth $3,514,101. Corporate insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

CAVA Group Trading Down 10.5 %

Shares of CAVA opened at $75.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.60. CAVA Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.22 and a twelve month high of $172.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 163.70 and a beta of 3.33.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). CAVA Group had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The business had revenue of $227.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $223.34 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CAVA Group, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAVA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CAVA Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America began coverage on CAVA Group in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CAVA Group from $160.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of CAVA Group from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of CAVA Group from $163.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CAVA Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.25.

CAVA Group Profile

CAVA Group, Inc owns and operates a chain of restaurants under the CAVA brand in the United States. The company also offers dips, spreads, and dressings through grocery stores. In addition, the company provides online and mobile ordering platforms. Cava Group, Inc was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.