Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 41,919 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,401,539 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 41,919 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.92% of Cheesecake Factory worth $262,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 274,877 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,376,000 after purchasing an additional 6,047 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at $5,559,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at $299,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 101,208 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,801,000 after buying an additional 13,678 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CAKE. Bank of America raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price objective on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.94.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $61.94 on Tuesday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52 week low of $35.40 and a 52 week high of $69.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.15.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The firm had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. The trade was a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total value of $2,732,705.10. Following the transaction, the president owned 24,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,546,987.92. This trade represents a 63.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,723 shares of company stock worth $11,005,819. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.