Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

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 shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,985 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 28,978 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Yelp worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Yelp during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth $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 buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the insider owned 212,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,494,125.60. The trade was a 0.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $492,674.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 145,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,538,543.52. The trade was a 8.17% 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 valued at $2,151,656 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Yelp Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Yelp stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 741,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,488. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.28. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $353.48 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 19.42%. Yelp's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.