BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $1.07 Million Stock Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,736 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 9,002 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Yelp were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Yelp by 375.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,331,835 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $51,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,588 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the 4th quarter valued at $652,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yelp by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 153,764 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $5,951,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Yelp by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $29,131,000 after purchasing an additional 57,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP stock traded down $0.64 on Monday, reaching $37.41. 497,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 737,713. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.29 and a 12-month high of $41.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $36.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.32.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YELP. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.00.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $492,674.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,538,543.52. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total value of $34,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 222,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,665,538.40. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,642 shares of company stock valued at $1,697,635. Insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Yelp Company Profile

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.