Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 80.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 966 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MELI. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 170 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,675.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,687.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,843.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,495.00 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The company has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.36.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MELI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 target price on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,255.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.