Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 445.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,061 shares of the local business review company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,683 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Yelp were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Yelp by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Yelp by 1,963.6% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 908 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yelp during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yelp by 75.9% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total transaction of $397,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,022,963.36. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total transaction of $37,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 183,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,973,368.42. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,489 shares of company stock valued at $2,087,187 over the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yelp Trading Up 3.4 %

YELP opened at $35.11 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.40. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The local business review company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.09. Yelp had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The company had revenue of $361.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $350.73 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on YELP. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

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.