Rathbones Group PLC Grows Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 67.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,042 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $43,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,701,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Dala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at $2,992,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 46.6% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,208,000. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MELI shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark dropped their price target on 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, Daiwa Securities Group cut shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,258.67.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,877.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,728.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,802.56. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,548.50.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.