New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $10.69 Million Stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 219,581 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 19,359 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.44% of Cheesecake Factory worth $10,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Mariner LLC bought a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 94.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Keith Carango sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $2,783,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,062.88. This represents a 70.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 42,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.00, for a total value of $2,402,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 40,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,168. This represents a 51.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,456,992 in the last three months. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $67.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheesecake Factory has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.38.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $62.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.53. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $927.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $927.17 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 46.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Cheesecake Factory 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.