The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has reduced its stake in The Cheesecake Factory by 1.8%, owning approximately 2.68 million shares valued at $130.2 million after selling 50,359 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in The Cheesecake Factory over the same period, with Wellington Management Group acquiring a 156.7% increase, now holding over 3 million shares valued at $148.2 million.
• The Cheesecake Factory recently posted quarterly earnings of $1.16 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.06, and reported a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.7% to $955.8 million.

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,676,024 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 50,359 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 5.40% of Cheesecake Factory worth $130,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAKE. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,244 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ CAKE traded down $0.58 on Monday, reaching $61.46. The stock had a trading volume of 812,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,204. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $35.40 and a 12-month high of $69.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.65.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 4.33%.The company had revenue of $955.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $945.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheesecake Factory news, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total transaction of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,331.04. This represents a 45.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total value of $816,121.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,806 shares in the company, valued at $448,379.28. This trade represents a 64.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,523 shares of company stock worth $4,654,643 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAKE shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Argus set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.94.

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.