Lingotto Investment Management LLP Increases Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,152 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,138 shares during the period. MercadoLibre makes up about 0.7% of Lingotto Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Lingotto Investment Management LLP’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $40,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 803.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 333,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,665,000 after buying an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at $597,045,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,012,773,000 after purchasing an additional 164,120 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 28.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 493,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,911,000 after purchasing an additional 109,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 29.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 418,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $976,846,000 after purchasing an additional 93,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was bought 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MELI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of MELI opened at $1,730.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $87.76 billion, a PE ratio of 45.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,720.80 and a 200 day moving average of $1,898.53. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,645.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current 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.