Insider Selling: Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Sells $212,642.50 in Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Director Alexander Cappello sold 2,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.50, for a total value of $212,642.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,076 shares in the company, valued at $413,714. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.5%

CAKE opened at $105.31 on Thursday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52 week low of $43.07 and a 52 week high of $107.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.00.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.26. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.97% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAKE shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Cheesecake Factory from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $66.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $91.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 5,802 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 260 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.