Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,302 shares of the local business review company's stock after selling 24,957 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Yelp worth $12,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of YELP. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Yelp by 115.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 976 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yelp during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 153.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,323 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yelp news, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total transaction of $490,637.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,389,992.21. This trade represents a 12.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total value of $37,990.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 183,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,973,368.42. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,972,408 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YELP has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America started coverage on Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yelp to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Yelp Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:YELP traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.59. The company had a trading volume of 576,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,294. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.76. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $46.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.35.

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.