Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,817,930 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 72,203 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 5.53% of Cheesecake Factory worth $110,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the 2nd quarter worth about $290,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 409,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,091,000 after acquiring an additional 9,450 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $273,000. Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in Cheesecake Factory during the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,772,000 after purchasing an additional 43,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.48% of the company’s stock.

Cheesecake Factory Price Performance

Cheesecake Factory stock opened at $38.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.26. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a 12 month low of $28.58 and a 12 month high of $41.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.50.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The restaurant operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 43.62%. The company had revenue of $904.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Cheesecake Factory’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Cheesecake Factory’s payout ratio is 49.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAKE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cheesecake Factory from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.08.

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.