Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,531 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.08% of MercadoLibre worth $67,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MELI. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,948,000 after purchasing an additional 10,272 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,328,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 101,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,613,000 after buying an additional 11,166 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter valued at $4,923,000. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MELI stock opened at $2,452.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.61. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,550.00 and a 12-month high of $2,501.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $2,081.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,982.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.82 by $1.92. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.55 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 51.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.78 EPS. Analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MELI. StockNews.com upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark lowered MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,504.67.

About MercadoLibre

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.