Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Stake Raised by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Yelp Inc. by 122.8%, owning 1.9 million shares worth approximately $70.4 million.
• Insiders at Yelp, including Craig Saldanha and Dan Jedda, sold shares recently, collectively reducing their positions significantly.
• JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley reassessed Yelp's stock ratings, with JPMorgan lowering its price target from $36 to $35, while Wall Street Zen upgraded it to a "strong-buy."

LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 122.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,902,318 shares of the local business review company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,048,451 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 2.93% of Yelp worth $70,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Yelp by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,331,835 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $51,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,588 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Yelp by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 601,632 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $23,283,000 after buying an additional 249,231 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Yelp during the 4th quarter worth about $7,455,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Yelp by 9.3% during 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 buying an additional 164,149 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yelp during the 1st quarter worth about $5,134,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $7,494,125.60. This represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dan Jedda sold 2,794 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $662,363.52. This represents a 13.08% 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. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on YELP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 cut their price objective on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP opened at $33.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $35.44 and its 200-day moving average is $36.31.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $358.53 million for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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