44 Wealth Management LLC Takes $1.37 Million Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,000. 44 Wealth Management LLC owned 0.05% of Cheesecake Factory at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,743,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1,041.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 28,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,786,000 after buying an additional 26,016 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 28,159 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 131.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 97,055 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,081,000 after purchasing an additional 55,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 289.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,004 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 13,378 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 5,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.95, for a total transaction of $327,717.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,715 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,759.25. This trade represents a 16.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spero G. Alex sold 4,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.00, for a total value of $316,140.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,582 shares of company stock valued at $1,337,936 in the last ninety days. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CAKE opened at $57.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.50 and its 200-day moving average is $55.10. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $961.56 million during 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 39.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Cheesecake Factory from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens lowered 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. Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.81.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

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.