Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings in Yelp Inc. $YELP

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 5.2% during the first quarter, resulting in a total ownership of approximately 251,209 shares valued at about $9.33 million.
• Yelp reported earnings of $0.67 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.48, with a revenue of $370.39 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold a significant 90.11% of Yelp's stock, indicating strong interest from larger financial entities in the company's performance.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 251,209 shares of the local business review company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,331 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.39% of Yelp worth $9,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Yelp by 307.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Yelp by 57.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,725 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Yelp by 47.3% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:YELP traded up $0.2050 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.2250. 1,280,211 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 948,913. The business's 50-day moving average price is $33.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.54. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. 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 data on Thursday, August 7th. The local business review company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $370.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $365.71 million. Yelp had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 20.17%. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Yelp has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, Director Dan Jedda sold 2,794 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.68, for a total value of $99,689.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,363.52. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 212,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,494,125.60. This represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,441 shares of company stock worth $1,658,981 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YELP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Yelp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Yelp from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target 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.