Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its Cheesecake Factory stake by 9.7% in the first quarter, selling 33,148 shares and ending with 306,929 shares valued at about $16.8 million.
• Cheesecake Factory’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $1.05 versus $1.03 expected and revenue of $978.8 million, up 5.6% year over year.
• The stock has risen sharply and was trading near its 52-week high, while analysts currently rate it a Hold overall with an average price target of $67.75.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 306,929 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 33,148 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of Cheesecake Factory worth $16,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 226.5% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 604 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 661.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 716 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 973.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3,343.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,102 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 1.6%

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $85.68 on Thursday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $43.07 and a 1-year high of $87.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.01.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 43.74% and a net margin of 4.34%.The company had revenue of $978.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 104,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.02, for a total transaction of $6,346,080.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 3,079,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,928,114.58. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 2,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.90, for a total transaction of $161,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,497.90. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CAKE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Cheesecake Factory from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.75.

Cheesecake Factory Company Profile

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated NASDAQ: CAKE is an American restaurant company and distributor renowned for its full-service casual-dining concept and specialty cheesecakes. Headquartered in Calabasas Hills, California, the company operates more than 200 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory® brand across the United States, Puerto Rico and select international markets. In addition to sit-down dining, Cheesecake Factory franchised locations offer catering and take-out services, while a separate manufacturing arm supplies branded cheesecakes and desserts to supermarkets, hotels and other foodservice operators.

The origins of the brand trace back to a small cheesecake bakery founded in Detroit in the 1940s.

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