D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $33.09 Million Stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 854,900 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 200,626 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 1.30% of Yelp worth $33,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 347.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $5,627,000 after buying an additional 124,561 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Yelp by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 125,492 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $4,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Yelp by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Yelp during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 93,166.7% during the 4th quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE YELP traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, hitting $41.00. The stock had a trading volume of 817,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,085. Yelp Inc. has a one year low of $32.29 and a one year high of $41.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $35.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.10.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yelp

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,916 shares in the company, valued at $8,453,476.80. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $36,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 223,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,122,426.08. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,025,717 in the last 90 days. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.