Ruffer LLP Cuts Stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP reduced its stake in The Cheesecake Factory by 4.9%, holding 297,629 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million.
• Several other large investors, including Wellington Management Group and Invesco Ltd., significantly increased their positions in Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter.
• Cheesecake Factory reported earnings of $1.16 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27.

Ruffer LLP cut its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 297,629 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 15,417 shares during the quarter. Cheesecake Factory comprises approximately 0.8% of Ruffer LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Ruffer LLP owned 0.60% of Cheesecake Factory worth $18,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 156.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,045,705 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $148,204,000 after buying an additional 1,859,194 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 83.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,591,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $126,088,000 after buying an additional 1,178,722 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 64.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $85,940,000 after buying an additional 689,784 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 17.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,604,626 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,081,000 after buying an additional 241,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the first quarter valued at $75,795,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, Director Alexander L. Cappello sold 12,388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.88, for a total transaction of $816,121.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,806 shares in the company, valued at $448,379.28. This represents a 64.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President David M. Gordon sold 43,335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $54.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.21. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.10. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $38.40 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $955.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.82 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is 33.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAKE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has a consensus 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.

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