The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated $CAKE Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Cheesecake Factory stake by 33.2% in the first quarter, selling 679,601 shares and retaining 1.37 million shares worth approximately $75 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.48% of CAKE.
• Cheesecake Factory reported quarterly EPS of $1.44, beating estimates of $1.18, while revenue rose 7.7% year over year to $1.03 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.
• CAKE shares opened at $107.05, near their 52-week high, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $81.00. Corporate insiders also sold more than $18.4 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,369,742 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 679,601 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 2.76% of Cheesecake Factory worth $74,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAKE. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 503,184 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,401,000 after acquiring an additional 33,959 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth about $1,111,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 127.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,513 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 33,936 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the 1st quarter valued at about $719,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 131,591 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,643,000 after purchasing an additional 36,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE stock opened at $107.05 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a one year low of $43.07 and a one year high of $107.95.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.54 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 43.97%. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAKE. Zacks Research raised shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Cheesecake Factory from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insider Activity

In other Cheesecake Factory news, Chairman David Overton sold 94,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.27, for a total transaction of $10,004,789.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,543,577.35. This trade represents a 51.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ashley W. Hanscom sold 3,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,100. This trade represents a 31.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 179,331 shares of company stock valued at $18,413,065 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

About Cheesecake Factory

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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