The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,243,504 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 12,335 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.44% of Cheesecake Factory worth $58,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,114,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth about $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,062,000 after acquiring an additional 673,076 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 322.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 382,383 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $18,140,000 after buying an additional 291,905 shares during the period. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $9,401,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.47. 98,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,930. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $57.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upgraded Cheesecake Factory from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheesecake Factory presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.63.

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.