Scarlett May Sells 18,800 Shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) EVP Scarlett May sold 18,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.82, for a total value of $1,105,816.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,331.04. This represents a 45.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Scarlett May also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 29th, Scarlett May sold 20,800 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.02, for a total transaction of $1,165,216.00.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Shares of CAKE stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $57.61. 1,107,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,213. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.79. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $33.50 and a fifty-two week high of $59.45. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last released 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. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. The company had revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheesecake Factory

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 156.2% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,406 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 14,880 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 0.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 134,328 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,536,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 57.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,870 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 15,342 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.48% 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.