Insider Selling: Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Sells 7,000 Shares of Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total value of $459,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,713. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ CAKE traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,042,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,335. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.02. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $42.69 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.13.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $961.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CAKE. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group set a $53.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.