Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,542 shares of the local business review company’s stock after selling 3,458 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Yelp worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Yelp by 4.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 worth $62,587,000 after purchasing an additional 33,046 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Yelp by 0.8% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Yelp by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yelp by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 308,459 shares of the local business review company’s stock worth $11,398,000 after acquiring an additional 86,836 shares in the last quarter. 90.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Yelp

In other news, COO Joseph R. Nachman sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 255,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,694,083.16. This trade represents a 2.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.12, for a total value of $377,329.28. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 122,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,301,497.60. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,598 shares of company stock worth $1,106,106. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Yelp Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Yelp stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $35.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.44.

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.