LPL Financial LLC Has $1.88 Million Holdings in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in The Cheesecake Factory by 13.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 38,646 shares valued at $1,881,000.
• Insider trading activity revealed that Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares and Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares, significantly reducing their ownership in the company.
• The Cheesecake Factory reported $1.16 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing a 5.7% year-over-year revenue increase.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,646 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of Cheesecake Factory worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,121 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted 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. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Cheesecake Factory by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,049 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CAKE traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.71. 1,057,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,923. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $35.40 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.83 and a 200 day moving average of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is currently 33.23%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other news, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.06, for a total transaction of $2,732,705.10. Following the sale, the president owned 24,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,987.92. This trade represents a 63.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total transaction of $2,402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,723 shares of company stock worth $11,005,819. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CAKE. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.