Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires New Position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 98,000 shares of the local business review company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,861,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Yelp in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 4,634.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yelp news, insider Carmen Orr sold 14,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $569,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,180,418. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yelp news, insider Carmen Orr sold 14,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $569,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,180,418. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 26,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total value of $978,413.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 167,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,069.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,068 shares of company stock valued at $1,997,590. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $36.22 on Friday. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $48.99. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.20.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The local business review company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $332.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $333.66 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 8.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Yelp in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on Yelp from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Yelp from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

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.