Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 16,734 Shares of Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP – Get Rating) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 452,387 shares of the local business review company’s stock after buying an additional 16,734 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Yelp were worth $12,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 2.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,222,022 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $380,539,000 after acquiring an additional 321,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 6.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,253,025 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $313,770,000 after acquiring an additional 577,514 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,642,699 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $89,614,000 after acquiring an additional 123,355 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,012,841 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $55,031,000 after acquiring an additional 38,876 shares during the period. Finally, Tenzing Global Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Tenzing Global Management LLC now owns 2,000,000 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $67,820,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other news, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $328,948.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 216,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,984,291.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Carmen Orr sold 8,000 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total transaction of $258,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 101,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,263,503.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Sam Eaton sold 10,181 shares of Yelp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.31, for a total value of $328,948.11. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 216,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,984,291.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,302 shares of company stock worth $985,678. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yelp Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of YELP stock opened at $33.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.22 and a beta of 1.45. Yelp Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.30 and a 12 month high of $39.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YELP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on Yelp from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Yelp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Yelp from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Yelp from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Yelp from $31.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.63.

Yelp Company Profile

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Yelp, Inc engages in the business of operating a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. The company was founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russell Simmons in July 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.