Jennison Associates LLC Trims Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 369,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 716,487 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $744,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weitz Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the third quarter worth about $8,647,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 126.7% during the third quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 11,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,886,000 after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 14.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 86,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,610,000 after purchasing an additional 10,849 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,414,000 after purchasing an additional 7,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 5.5% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 11,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,015,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MELI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered MercadoLibre from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wedbush cut their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $2,400.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,685.33.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,782.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,764.98 and a 200 day moving average of $1,975.45. The company has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.49. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,593.21 and a 1-year high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 33.73% and a net margin of 6.91%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 50.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc operates an integrated e-commerce and fintech ecosystem serving consumers and businesses across Latin America. The company provides an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for a wide range of goods and services, supported by tools for merchants, advertising, and classifieds. Over time MercadoLibre has expanded beyond its marketplace roots into complementary areas that support digital commerce end to end.

Key offerings include its marketplace platform and a suite of logistics and payment services.