Yelp Inc. $YELP Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Yelp stake by 73.8% in the first quarter, acquiring 238,993 additional shares and ending with 562,739 shares valued at approximately $13.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.11% of Yelp.
• Yelp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.57 in earnings per share versus the $0.36 consensus estimate and revenue of $375.5 million, up 1.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $27.57; one analyst rates the stock Buy, four Hold, and two Sell.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 73.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,739 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 238,993 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.02% of Yelp worth $13,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,158 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 181.3% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Yelp during the first quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price target on shares of Yelp in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Yelp from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore set a $30.00 target price on Yelp in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yelp currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $27.57.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $24.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.46. Yelp Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.60 and a 1 year high of $34.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The local business review company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. Yelp had a net margin of 8.59% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $375.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, Director Christine Barone sold 15,507 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total transaction of $355,885.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $365,547.60. This represents a 49.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,007 shares of company stock worth $391,306. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company's flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.

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