Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,955 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 7,417 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Yelp worth $3,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Yelp by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,496,166 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $103,789,000 after purchasing an additional 384,566 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Yelp by 2,219.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 168,559 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 161,291 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Yelp in the third quarter valued at approximately $976,000. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,121 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yelp in the third quarter worth $1,786,000. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yelp Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $39.99 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 1.44. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.53 and a 12 month high of $48.99.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The local business review company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. The business had revenue of $342.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.83 million. Yelp had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YELP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Raymond James began coverage on Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yelp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $232,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,134,452.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Yelp 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 value of $111,732.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,516,994.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $232,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares in the company, valued at $12,134,452.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

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.