Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 55%, owning approximately 174,944 shares valued at $6.48 million after acquiring additional shares in the 1st quarter.
• Yelp's shares saw a mixed analyst reception, with Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley lowered their price targets.
• Insider transactions included a sale by Carmen Amara of 6,886 shares at an average price of $38.19, resulting in a 6.95% decrease in their position, amidst overall insider sales totaling 58,345 shares in the last ninety days.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 55.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,944 shares of the local business review company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,068 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.27% of Yelp worth $6,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YELP. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Yelp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 555,797 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $20,581,000 after buying an additional 13,943 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Yelp by 2.0% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 176,668 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $6,542,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Yelp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,855,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 406.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,322 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 18,718 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yelp Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of YELP stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.90. 533,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 634,723. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.40. Yelp Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.28 and a 1-year high of $41.72. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 199,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,924,000.72. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $35,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 212,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,494,125.60. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on YELP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company 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 report on Friday, July 18th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" 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.