Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,151,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 48,009 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Cheesecake Factory worth $281,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake 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 valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Ashley W. 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 $724,731.24. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total value of $459,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,713. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,376 shares of company stock worth $1,010,219 in the last quarter. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Cheesecake Factory News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheesecake Factory this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights CAKE as a strong value stock based on style scores, which supports a valuation-driven bullish case for value-oriented investors. Here’s Why CAKE is a Strong Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Management is weighing expansion for 2026 and exploring a rewards/app strategy that could boost repeat visits and off-premise sales if executed well — a potential multi-year revenue driver. Cheesecake Factory Weighs 2026 Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: International growth: the bakery/franchise arm opened its first India store in Bengaluru with aggressive multi-year revenue targets, signaling a path to diversify outside the U.S. market. Bakery opens first India store
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: company raised the quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20), which supports income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. MarketBeat coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand and real-estate positioning piece explains why Cheesecake Factory often anchors malls — useful context on customer traffic and site strategy but not an immediate catalyst. Why Cheesecake Factory is always in the mall
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst Q&A/FAQ pieces after Q4 provide items to watch (guidance, margins) — helpful for investors but not new data. 5 Must-Read Analyst Questions
• Negative Sentiment: Concentrated insider selling: CFO Matthew Clark, EVP Spero Alex, director Alexander Cappello and others sold sizable blocks (~$64–$66 levels) last week. Multiple filings and aggregated reports have amplified investor concern and are the likely proximate cause of today’s downward price move. TipRanks insider trading
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk: coverage and commentaries flag that mixed analyst ratings and a moderate P/E leave the stock vulnerable if growth or margins disappoint. That concern compounds negative sentiment from insider sales. Valuation risks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective 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. Argus decreased 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 report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $64.78 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.17. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G 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.

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

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

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.