The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 524,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,390 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.03% of Cheesecake Factory worth $21,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 942,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,038,000 after acquiring an additional 223,497 shares in the last quarter. JCP Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 403,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,353,000 after buying an additional 99,341 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,831,381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,245,000 after buying an additional 76,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 819,328 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,191,000 after buying an additional 60,545 shares during the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.75.

Insider Activity at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total value of $653,178.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. The trade was a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

Shares of CAKE stock opened at $46.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.47. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.96 and a 1 year high of $50.75.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The company had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.06%.

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.