Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Chairman Sells 94,145 Shares of Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total transaction of $10,004,789.15. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,543,577.35. This trade represents a 51.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,176,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,640. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $43.07 and a 1-year high of $107.95.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 43.97%. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,337,671 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $118,006,000 after buying an additional 280,553 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,785,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $90,155,000 after acquiring an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,474,320 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,424,000 after acquiring an additional 207,788 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,143 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,008,000 after acquiring an additional 29,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,174 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,170,000 after acquiring an additional 4,577 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.