Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Sells $214,126.88 in Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Janice Meyer sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.36, for a total value of $214,126.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,324,009.36. The trade was a 8.44% 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $106.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.14. 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 12 month low of $43.07 and a 12 month high of $118.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAKE shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. NFSG Corp raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 115.8% during the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 682 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.