Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Takes $75.80 Million Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has acquired 1,557,637 shares of The Cheesecake Factory, totaling approximately $75.80 million, representing a 3.15% stake in the company.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales, with insider Keith Carango selling 50,500 shares and the CFO Matthew Eliot Clark selling 42,900 shares, indicating a decrease in their holdings.
• The Cheesecake Factory recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a yield of 1.8%, set to be paid on August 26th to investors on record by August 12th.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,557,637 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $75,795,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 3.15% of Cheesecake Factory at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ruffer LLP grew its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 313,046 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $15,232,000 after buying an additional 114,867 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,440 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 1st quarter worth approximately $805,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 145,388 shares of company stock valued at $8,273,113 over the last quarter. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE opened at $61.63 on Wednesday. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a twelve month low of $34.04 and a twelve month high of $69.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.16 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 46.15%. The firm 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 earned $1.09 EPS. Cheesecake Factory's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Argus set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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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