D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 219,505 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 1,896.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,078 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 219,505 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.45% of Cheesecake Factory worth $10,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,443,458 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $258,238,000 after purchasing an additional 21,096 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,412,483 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,008,000 after purchasing an additional 155,614 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Cheesecake Factory by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,363,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,663,000 after purchasing an additional 186,026 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,114,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,288,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

CAKE stock traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $54.89. 712,604 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,194,515. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52 week low of $33.50 and a 52 week high of $57.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $927.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total transaction of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. The trade was a 42.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Cheesecake Factory 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.