Vestcor Inc Grows Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 178.4%, owning a total of 14,391 shares worth approximately $533,000 after purchasing 9,221 additional shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Farther Finance Advisors LLC and Fifth Third Bancorp, also raised their stakes in Yelp during the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest.
• Yelp's stock recently traded at $33.84, with analysts giving it an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $34.00, despite some firms lowering their price objectives.

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 178.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,391 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,221 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Yelp were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Yelp by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,924,457 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $74,477,000 after acquiring an additional 164,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Yelp by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 15,649 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,051,588 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Yelp by 163.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 853,867 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $33,045,000 after purchasing an additional 529,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Yelp by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 752,742 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $29,131,000 after purchasing an additional 57,610 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE YELP traded up $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $34.25. 806,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 787,185. The business's fifty day moving average price is $35.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.97. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.72.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on YELP shares. Wall Street Zen raised Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total transaction of $346,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 199,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,924,000.72. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

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.