MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Position Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $39,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,943,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 238.3% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,179,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 40,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,941,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MELI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,950.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,258.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MELI stock opened at $1,819.74 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,710.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,810.88. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,495.00 and a twelve month high of $2,548.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $92.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The company had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

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.