Leeward Investments LLC MA Trims Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 179,431 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 34,436 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned approximately 0.36% of Cheesecake Factory worth $8,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at $56,288,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,062,000 after buying an additional 673,076 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth about $21,827,000. JCP Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 181.3% in the 4th quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC now owns 667,210 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $31,652,000 after purchasing an additional 430,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 322.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 382,383 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,140,000 after purchasing an additional 291,905 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAKE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.63.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 20,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock worth $7,456,992 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.21. 607,895 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,245,402. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12-month low of $33.50 and a 12-month high of $65.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $56.10 and its 200-day moving average is $52.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.06%. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

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.