The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE Shares Sold by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,091 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 8,870 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 39.2% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 36.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 16.4% in the third 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, Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth $137,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 2,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.64, for a total value of $193,703.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,731.24. The trade was a 21.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.70, for a total transaction of $459,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,713. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,376 shares of company stock worth $1,010,219. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $75.00 price target on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of CAKE opened at $64.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.16. 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 cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.68% and a net margin of 3.96%.Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

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