American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Position in Yelp Inc. $YELP

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 19.5%, owning 173,771 shares valued at approximately $6.44 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and MetLife Investment Management, also boosted their holdings in Yelp during the fourth quarter.
• Yelp's stock recently opened at $31.31, with a recent earnings report showing an EPS of $0.67, surpassing analyst expectations.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,771 shares of the local business review company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,395 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Yelp worth $6,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Yelp by 8.6% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,737 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Yelp by 5.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 251,209 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,330,000 after purchasing an additional 12,331 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Yelp by 48.8% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 243,935 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,033,000 after purchasing an additional 79,973 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,811,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Yelp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $657,000. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yelp Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:YELP traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $31.61. The company had a trading volume of 891,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,978. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.03. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.96 and a 12 month high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $370.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.71 million. Yelp had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Yelp has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.33, for a total transaction of $32,330.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 204,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,624,417. This trade represents a 0.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dan Jedda sold 2,794 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.68, for a total transaction of $99,689.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,363.52. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,755 shares of company stock worth $1,285,051 in the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.