The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Matthew Eliot Clark Sells 29,000 Shares of Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,687.36. This represents a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE opened at $54.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $33.05 and a 1-year high of $57.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.63 and a 200-day moving average of $46.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. Equities analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CAKE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

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.