Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 586,820 shares of the local business review company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,547 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.87% of Yelp worth $21,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Yelp by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yelp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Yelp by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YELP opened at $34.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $357.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.98 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,080,985. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,776 shares of company stock valued at $863,590 in the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on YELP. Bank of America began coverage on Yelp in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Yelp in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.20.

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.