The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Insider Keith Carango Sells 50,500 Shares

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) 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 value of $2,783,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This trade represents a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

CAKE traded down $0.92 on Friday, reaching $54.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,152,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,079. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.26 and a 200-day moving average of $50.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a one year low of $33.50 and a one year high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. Cheesecake Factory's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAKE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 360,718 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $17,112,000 after acquiring an additional 32,000 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $489,000. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,401,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $972,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,513,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.