KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $489,000 in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,300 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,876,295 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $76,084,000 after buying an additional 67,550 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,363,051 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,663,000 after purchasing an additional 186,026 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter worth about $63,114,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,549 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $45,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 166.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,076,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $51,062,000 after purchasing an additional 673,076 shares during the period. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAKE shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.13.

Cheesecake Factory Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CAKE traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $44.51. The stock had a trading volume of 843,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,003. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.24. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1-year low of $33.05 and a 1-year high of $57.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.