Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,026 shares during the quarter. MercadoLibre makes up 1.0% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.45% of MercadoLibre worth $458,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 4.0% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MELI opened at $1,589.60 on Friday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,495.00 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,715.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,873.83. The company has a market capitalization of $80.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Itau BBA Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre 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.