Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 2,800 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 62.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,300 shares of the local business review company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Yelp were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of YELP. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Yelp by 262.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 664 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yelp in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 115.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Yelp by 98.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on YELP. StockNews.com upgraded Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America started coverage on Yelp in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Yelp from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yelp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP stock opened at $38.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. Yelp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.56 and a fifty-two week high of $48.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.12, for a total transaction of $377,329.28. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 122,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,301,497.60. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmen Amara sold 12,854 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total value of $490,637.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,389,992.21. The trade was a 12.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,598 shares of company stock valued at $1,106,106 over the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is owned by 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.