Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Position Raised by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 334,962 shares of the local business review company’s stock after buying an additional 55,782 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Yelp were worth $12,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 54.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 98.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 153.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,323 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yelp Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:YELP opened at $39.96 on Friday. Yelp Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $45.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.35.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The local business review company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.16. Yelp had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $360.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Yelp Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $38,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 184,558 shares in the company, valued at $7,022,431.90. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.72, for a total value of $397,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 201,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,022,963.36. This represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,865 shares of company stock worth $2,167,768. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YELP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.17.

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.