MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 179.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,791 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $9,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at $561,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MELI stock opened at $2,560.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2,432.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,109.52. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,563.21 and a 12 month high of $2,635.88. The company has a market capitalization of $129.79 billion, a PE ratio of 62.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.51.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.82 by $1.92. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 48.46%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.78 earnings per share. MercadoLibre’s quarterly revenue was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MELI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $2,975.00 target price (up previously from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $2,800.00 target price (up previously from $2,450.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,645.94.

MercadoLibre Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps.