Insider Selling: Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Chairman Sells 94,145 Shares

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total value of $10,004,789.15. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $9,543,577.35. This trade represents a 51.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE traded up $2.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $107.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,176,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,640. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $43.07 and a fifty-two week high of $107.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.49. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 5,802 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.