Northern Trust Corp Acquires 57,610 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 752,742 shares of the local business review company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,610 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.14% of Yelp worth $29,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at $3,344,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Yelp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 151,552 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $5,865,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Yelp by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 46,523 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,361 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Yelp by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 58,356 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 16,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Yelp by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 39,881 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of YELP traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.00. The company had a trading volume of 817,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,568. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.29 and a 12 month high of $41.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.51 and a 200-day moving average of $37.07.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $358.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.48 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In related news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total transaction of $34,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 222,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,665,538.40. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 21,989 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total transaction of $785,007.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 153,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,467,776.30. This represents a 12.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,025,717 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company's stock.

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.