Bank of Montreal Can Trims Stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 95.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,901 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 509,457 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Cheesecake Factory were worth $1,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,549 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $45,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cheesecake Factory by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 255,595 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $10,364,000 after buying an additional 22,416 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $63,114,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter worth $270,000. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory

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

Cheesecake Factory Stock Down 2.8 %

Cheesecake Factory stock traded down $1.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.88. 769,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,842. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.39 and its 200 day moving average is $48.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52 week low of $33.44 and a 52 week high of $57.32.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%. The company had revenue of $920.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. Analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is 33.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAKE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.06.

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.