The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE – Get Rating) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,514 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,289 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2,369.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 905,116 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $23,913,000 after acquiring an additional 868,460 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 307.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 696,968 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,101,000 after acquiring an additional 526,109 shares during the period. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,360,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,021,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,244,000. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $32.54 on Friday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $26.05 and a 12-month high of $41.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.45 and its 200 day moving average is $35.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The restaurant operator reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 1.42%. The company had revenue of $866.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $869.08 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 23rd. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.89%.

About Cheesecake Factory

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Cheesecake Factory, Inc engages in the operation of restaurant chains. It operates through The Cheesecake Factory, North Italia, Other FRC and Other segments. The Cheesecake Factory segment offers appetizers, pizza, seafood, steaks, chicken, burgers, small plates, pastas, salads, sandwiches and omelettes, and a selection of gluten-free items.