Premier Fund Managers Ltd Takes Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAKE. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,114,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,062,000 after acquiring an additional 673,076 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at $9,401,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,363,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,663,000 after buying an additional 186,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,513,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,092,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of Cheesecake Factory stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CAKE shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.38.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ CAKE traded up $1.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.49. 336,439 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,154,225. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1 year low of $33.05 and a 1 year high of $57.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a return on equity of 45.89% and a net margin of 4.38%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

Cheesecake Factory Company 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.