Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,100 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Yelp were worth $1,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 96.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 755 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 4,634.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Yelp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $111,732.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,848 shares in the company, valued at $10,516,994.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $268,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 248,976 shares in the company, valued at $11,141,676. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $111,732.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,516,994.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,750 shares of company stock worth $613,213. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE YELP opened at $40.15 on Wednesday. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.53 and a 12 month high of $48.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.55.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The local business review company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. Yelp had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $342.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on YELP shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.75.

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.