Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Sells $327,717.70 in Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total value of $327,717.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,759.25. This represents a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $60.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,247,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,854. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $42.69 and a 1-year high of $69.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.68% and a net margin of 3.96%.The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 39.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the third quarter valued at $2,743,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,041.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 28,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 26,016 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,362,000 after buying an additional 28,159 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 131.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 97,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,081,000 after buying an additional 55,185 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,704,314 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $106,792,000 after acquiring an additional 99,688 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $53.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial cut Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.81.

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.