BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,222,022 shares of the local business review company’s stock after acquiring an additional 321,414 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned 16.10% of Yelp worth $380,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 183.1% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 33,598 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 21,732 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the third quarter worth about $502,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Yelp by 491.0% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 108,734 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 90,337 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp during the third quarter worth about $651,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Yelp by 17.1% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,975 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 3,203 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently issued reports on YELP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Yelp from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Yelp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Yelp from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Yelp from $31.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, TheStreet cut Yelp from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yelp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.
Yelp Stock Performance
Yelp (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The local business review company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.03). Yelp had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The business had revenue of $309.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.65, for a total value of $1,432,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 501,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,374,736.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,153 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.24, for a total transaction of $367,506.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 226,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,853,805.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman sold 50,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.65, for a total value of $1,432,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 501,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,374,736.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 390,605 shares of company stock valued at $11,371,956 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.
About Yelp
Yelp, Inc operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses in the United States and internationally. The company’s platform covers various local business categories, including restaurants, shopping, beauty and fitness, health, and other categories, as well as home, local, auto, professional, pets, events, real estate, and financial services.
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