Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Takes Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,400 shares of the local business review company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.06% of Yelp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Yelp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 145,376 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $5,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,743 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 601,632 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $23,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,231 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,455,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Yelp by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,845,575 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $71,424,000 after buying an additional 255,775 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $35,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 212,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,494,125.60. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $492,674.72. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 145,064 shares in the company, valued at $5,538,543.52. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on YELP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Yelp Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of YELP stock traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.08. The stock had a trading volume of 654,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,803. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.28 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.37.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $358.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.48 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

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 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.