Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 61,415 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Cheesecake Factory by 40.5%, now owning approximately 0.18% of the company valued at $4.4 million.
• In contrast, Wellington Management Group LLP has increased its position by 156.7%, owning over 3 million shares worth approximately $148 million.
• The Cheesecake Factory has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a 1.8% yield with a payout ratio of 33.23%.

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 40.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,393 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 61,415 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Cheesecake Factory worth $4,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,121 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 4.0% in the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 38.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,049 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.53. 1,525,654 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,024,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1 year low of $36.78 and a 1 year high of $69.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.00.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. Cheesecake Factory's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.23%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total value of $2,732,705.10. Following the transaction, the president owned 24,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,987.92. This represents a 63.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total value of $816,121.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,379.28. This represents a 64.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAKE. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.