Lotus Technology Management LP Invests $1.87 Million in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Lotus Technology Management LP purchased a new position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 23,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,000. Cheesecake Factory makes up approximately 2.3% of Lotus Technology Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 618,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,771,000 after buying an additional 564,744 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at about $38,020,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.7% during the 3rd 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 boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 214.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 512,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,850,000 after buying an additional 349,168 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 1,583.7% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 287,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,499,000 after acquiring an additional 270,160 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, President David M. Gordon sold 31,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.03, for a total transaction of $3,515,458.50. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 26,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,957,056.25. This represents a 54.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $9,543,577.35. The trade was a 51.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 216,239 shares of company stock worth $22,463,500 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 1.0%

CAKE stock opened at $113.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $43.07 and a twelve month high of $118.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.28.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its earnings results 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CAKE shares. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Cheesecake Factory 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.