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

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 about 0.53% of Yelp worth $12,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of YELP. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Yelp by 4.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,695,536 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $99,600,000 after buying an additional 111,936 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Yelp by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,693,819 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $62,587,000 after acquiring an additional 33,046 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Yelp by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 586,820 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $21,683,000 after acquiring an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Yelp by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 567,567 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $20,972,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 5.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 429,438 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $16,920,000 after purchasing an additional 21,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE YELP opened at $35.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.56 and a 12-month high of $48.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $34.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YELP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Yelp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total transaction of $490,637.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,389,992.21. This represents a 12.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $238,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 255,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,694,083.16. The trade was a 2.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,630 shares of company stock valued at $1,105,937 over the last quarter. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yelp 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.