Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,177 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 13,634 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.06% of Yelp worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Yelp by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 1,963.6% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Yelp by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Yelp by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,815 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Up 1.2 %

YELP traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.04. The company had a trading volume of 66,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,146. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.91. Yelp Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.28 and a 52 week high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $350.73 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. Research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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 reduced their target price on Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.33.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $785,007.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 153,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,467,776.30. This represents a 12.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.80, for a total transaction of $348,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,453,476.80. This represents a 3.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,727 shares of company stock worth $2,025,717 over the last three months. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yelp 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.