Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.07 Million Stock Holdings in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,000 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 3,402 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Yelp worth $2,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in YELP. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Yelp by 132.7% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 27,094 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 15,451 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $594,000. CastleKnight Management LP boosted its stake in Yelp by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 68,925 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $3,263,000 after acquiring an additional 38,525 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Yelp by 7.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 61,150 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares during the period. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC increased its stake in Yelp by 13.6% in the second quarter. Ceera Investments LLC now owns 173,597 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $6,414,000 after purchasing an additional 20,780 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yelp Price Performance

YELP stock opened at $34.35 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $36.73. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The local business review company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $357.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.98 million. Yelp had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Yelp Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Yelp in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Yelp in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Yelp from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.20.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,080,985. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $377,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 145,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,080,985. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $232,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 281,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,371,246.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,776 shares of company stock worth $863,590 in the last three months. 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.