Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,689,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 22,917 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 5.27% of Cheesecake Factory worth $127,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 208.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CAKE traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.66. The stock had a trading volume of 389,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,098. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $33.50 and a 12-month high of $57.32. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.24.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This trade represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAKE shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.