Insider Selling: Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Sells $161,601.00 in Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Alexander Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total value of $161,601.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $66.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.43. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $43.07 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The company had revenue of $978.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $964.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAKE shares. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group set a $53.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $75.00 target price on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAKE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 92,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after buying an additional 21,887 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after buying an additional 8,592 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 112,020 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,019,000 after buying an additional 5,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.