Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 670 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,715 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Yelp were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YELP. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at $2,766,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Yelp by 2.1% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 49,192 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Yelp by 272.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,595 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 41,400 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Yelp by 6.2% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 355,748 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $13,173,000 after acquiring an additional 20,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Yelp in the first quarter valued at about $5,134,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Yelp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Yelp from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yelp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other Yelp news, insider Carmen Amara sold 6,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $262,976.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 92,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,523,142.07. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.34, for a total transaction of $34,340.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 213,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,339,144.80. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,147,176. Company insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP stock opened at $35.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.95. Yelp Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.29 and a 1 year high of $41.72.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The local business review company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $358.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yelp Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

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.