Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 1,620.5%, now owning 204,587 shares valued at $7.58 million.
• Several hedge funds have also boosted their holdings in Yelp, with notable increases from Farther Finance Advisors LLC (307.4%) and Fifth Third Bancorp (57.7%).
• Yelp's stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $34.00, as analysts have mixed views following recent price target adjustments.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 1,620.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,587 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 192,696 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.31% of Yelp worth $7,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 93.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 70.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at $7,455,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 257,649 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $9,971,000 after acquiring an additional 47,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,774,878 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $68,702,000 after acquiring an additional 15,649 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $33.84. 741,818 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,969. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.28 and a 12-month high of $41.72.

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $262,976.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,523,142.07. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,538,543.52. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,656. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.