Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Insider Ashley Hanscom Sells 2,951 Shares

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) insider Ashley Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total value of $193,703.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,731.24. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of CAKE traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $65.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,042,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $42.69 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.93 and its 200 day moving average is $55.13.

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

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAKE. Citigroup raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $75.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.81.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,771,000 after purchasing an additional 564,744 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,057,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,401,000 after purchasing an additional 407,223 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 214.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 512,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,850,000 after buying an additional 349,168 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,583.7% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 287,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,499,000 after buying an additional 270,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 747,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,819,000 after buying an additional 262,081 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.