Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,492 shares of the local business review company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Yelp were worth $4,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Yelp by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,648 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Yelp by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,229 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $61,724,000 after purchasing an additional 64,381 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 347.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after buying an additional 124,561 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yelp during the third quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Yelp by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,553,227 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $89,567,000 after buying an additional 23,719 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $238,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 255,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This trade represents a 2.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.29, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 211,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,117,020.52. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 51,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,934,418. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YELP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Yelp in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $38.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.70. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $48.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.35.

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.