18,640 Shares in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) Acquired by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management acquired a new stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,640 shares of the local business review company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 637 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 54.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Yelp by 98.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Stock Performance

NYSE:YELP opened at $36.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.28 and its 200-day moving average is $36.57. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.56 and a 52-week high of $41.72.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on YELP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.17.

Insider Activity

In other Yelp news, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $6,973,368.42. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $382,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 211,988 shares in the company, valued at $8,117,020.52. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,267 shares of company stock worth $1,299,802. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

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.