Aurora Investment Counsel Buys Shares of 64,892 Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 64,892 shares of the local business review company's stock, valued at approximately $2,511,000. Yelp comprises about 1.4% of Aurora Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Aurora Investment Counsel owned 0.10% of Yelp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 507,990 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $19,659,000 after acquiring an additional 236,400 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 347.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 124,561 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,279,000. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 136.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 181,622 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $6,371,000 after acquiring an additional 104,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yelp in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,189,000. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Yelp from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yelp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.17.

Yelp Stock Down 0.2 %

Yelp stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.03. The stock had a trading volume of 611,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 678,498. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.76 and a 200 day moving average of $36.68. Yelp Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.56 and a 52-week high of $41.72.

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

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 10,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.80, for a total transaction of $348,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,453,476.80. This trade represents a 3.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 1,500 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total transaction of $49,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,984.12. The trade was a 1.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,083,317. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.