Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Spero Alex Sells 4,790 Shares of Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) EVP Spero Alex sold 4,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total transaction of $316,140.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of CAKE traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,042,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,335. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52 week low of $42.69 and a 52 week high of $69.70.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $961.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $949.03 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.96% and a return on equity of 45.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Cheesecake Factory’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAKE shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,337,671 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $118,006,000 after acquiring an additional 280,553 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,800,388 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $98,373,000 after purchasing an additional 96,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,785,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,155,000 after purchasing an additional 4,535 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,474,320 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,424,000 after purchasing an additional 207,788 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,213,106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,235,000 after buying an additional 5,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

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.