The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,877 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 6,047 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Cheesecake Factory worth $13,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAKE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 618,670 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $29,350,000 after purchasing an additional 20,769 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $2,356,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 186.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 23,637 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 15,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter valued at $608,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.77. 1,181,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,054. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $33.50 and a 1-year high of $65.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.51 and a 200-day moving average of $52.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.16.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CAKE. Argus set a $60.00 price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.44.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total transaction of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,345,331.04. The trade was a 45.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company's stock.

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.