Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Shares Acquired 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 grew its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 122.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of YELP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Yelp by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,924,457 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $74,477,000 after buying an additional 164,149 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Yelp by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 15,649 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $51,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,588 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 8.3% in the fourth 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. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yelp by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 650,433 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $25,172,000 after purchasing an additional 9,810 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.68, for a total transaction of $346,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 199,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,924,000.72. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 12,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,345 shares of company stock worth $2,151,656. 8.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YELP traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.17. 74,297 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,753. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.28 and a 12 month high of $41.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average of $36.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.97.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Yelp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The business had revenue of $358.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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.