Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 28,978 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Yelp Inc. by 29.6% during Q1, leaving it with 68,985 shares valued at approximately $2.56 million.
• Yelp's stock saw a 3.9% decline, trading at $33.08, following a quarterly earnings report that showed an EPS of $0.36, exceeding expectations.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed sentiments; while Wall Street Zen upgraded Yelp to a "strong-buy," Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase downgraded their price targets, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold."

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 29.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,985 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 28,978 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.11% of Yelp worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 307.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Yelp during the first quarter worth about $52,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Yelp during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE YELP traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,526. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.97.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business 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%. Yelp's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. cut their target price on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $262,976.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 92,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,523,142.07. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,151,656. Corporate insiders own 7.40% 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.