Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Shares Acquired by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,121 shares of the local business review company’s stock after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Yelp were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heron Bay Capital Management raised its holdings in Yelp by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 14,506 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Yelp by 0.9% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,681 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Yelp by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Yelp by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,488 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Yelp by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 104,563 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $4,950,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YELP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Yelp in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.75.

Yelp Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE YELP traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.50. 167,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,477. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16 and a beta of 1.49. Yelp Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.53 and a 1 year high of $48.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.54.

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

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $232,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 312,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,134,452.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $111,732.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,516,994.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $232,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 312,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,134,452.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.