In addition, thanks to the fact that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) spent $51 million last quarter to repurchase around 164,000 shares at an average of $310 each, its quarterly earnings per share rose 24% from the same year-ago period, to $2.45. What’s more, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) still has around $149 million remaining in its current share buyback program.
Bottom line: If this top stock were a giant burrito, there’s no reason investors shouldn’t want to clean their plates.
The mini-Berkshire
Finally, I think any long-term investor would be wise to buy Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL), another top stock which has returned more than 6,100% since going public in 1986.
But how much higher can it go? After all, with a current share price of nearly $525, Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) certainly appears to be the most “expensive” top stock I’ve named so far. However, this insurance specialist just so happens to emulate Warren Buffett’s wildly successful diversified business model, which helped him grow Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) into the $186 billion behemoth we know and love today.
And Markel, for its part, just posted its own awesome quarter, and currently sports a much smaller $5 billion market capitalization, leaving it plenty of room to build its business both organically, and through the acquisitions of other comparatively small, profitable companies.
Remember, though, price-to-book value is generally the most effective metric for valuing financial holding companies like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) and Markel. So how does Markel stack up?
Trading at 1.19 times book value, I’d say pretty darn well — especially when we note that’s below Buffett’s self-imposed limit of 1.2, under which, he told investors, he would be willing to buy back shares of Berkshire. For reference, the Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway (which cost nearly $170,000 apiece) currently trade for more 1.4 times Berkshire’s own book value.
Then again, Markel doesn’t exactly command the same “Buffett premium” that Berkshire does, but I’ve already asserted Markel’s management team is as good as they come.
In the end, then, if Markel can’t be considered one of the Wall Street’s top stocks, I don’t know what can.
The article 3 Top Stocks With 3-Digit Price Tags originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.
Fool contributor Steve Symington owns shares of Markel. The Motley Fool recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill, Markel, and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Markel, and Netflix.
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