Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 24,957 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,302 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 24,957 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Yelp worth $12,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yelp by 1,089.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,371 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $6,960,000 after buying an additional 172,531 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Yelp by 114.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 279,180 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $9,794,000 after acquiring an additional 148,917 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Yelp by 347.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,363 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 124,561 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 111,936 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in Yelp by 136.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 181,622 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 104,839 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $238,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 255,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This represents a 2.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total value of $37,990.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 183,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,973,368.42. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,865 shares of company stock valued at $1,972,408. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YELP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Yelp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Yelp from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Yelp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $46.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, 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 objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Yelp Price Performance

Shares of YELP opened at $38.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.35. Yelp Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.56 and a 1-year high of $47.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.06 and a 200 day moving average of $35.77.

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.