<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in shares of  The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 340,158 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 184,260 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.67% of Cheesecake Factory worth $16,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Cheesecake Factory</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Dining Out, Cashing In: 2 Restaurant Stocks Leading the Pack</li></ul><p>Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAKE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in  Cheesecake Factory in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000.  Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of  Cheesecake Factory by 108.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 616 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter.  SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in  Cheesecake Factory during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000.  Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in  Cheesecake Factory by 1,149.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in  Cheesecake Factory by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  94.48% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Analysts Set New Price Targets</h2><p>CAKE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair  reiterated an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup  reiterated a &#34;buy&#34; rating on shares of Cheesecake Factory in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Cheesecake Factory from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a &#34;sell&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an &#34;underweight&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned  a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company  has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus target price of $52.81.</p><ul><li>Best restaurant stocks to buy now </li></ul><p><b>View Our Latest Research Report on CAKE</b></p><h2>Cheesecake Factory Stock Up 0.4 %</h2><p>CAKE opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $33.05 and a fifty-two week high of $57.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.50 and a 200-day moving average of $47.10. </p><ul><li>Restaurant Stocks Go on Sale…Which Are Really on the Value Menu?</li></ul><p>Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $920.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.67 million. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 45.89%.  Equities research analysts forecast that  The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Cheesecake Factory Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend  was Wednesday, March 5th. Cheesecake Factory's payout ratio is 33.75%. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling at Cheesecake Factory</h2><p>In related news, CFO Matthew Eliot Clark sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.56, for a total value of $1,553,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,134,687.36. This trade represents a 42.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman David Overton sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.08, for a total value of $5,308,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,092,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,131,162.76. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own  8.10% of the company's stock. </p><h2>About Cheesecake Factory</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Cheesecake Factory</li><li>Short Selling - The Pros and Cons </li><li>FedEx Delivers Another Crushing Blow to Its Stock Price</li><li>What Are Dividend Challengers?</li><li>Analysts Stay Bullish on Rocket Lab as Signs of a Bottom Emerge</li><li>CD Calculator: Certificate of Deposit Calculator </li><li>Micron Stock Will Retest All-Time Highs This Year</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9Q0FLRQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9Q0FLRQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Cheesecake Factory Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Cheesecake Factory, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Cheesecake Factory wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Cheesecake Factory currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

CAKE

<p>Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in The Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 35.1% in Q4, now holding 340,158 shares valued at $16.14 million. Other institutional investors also adjusted their positions. Analysts have mixed ratings on CAKE, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $52.81. The stock opened at $48.70, with a market cap of $2.52 billion. The Cheesecake Factory reported Q4 earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.</p>

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