Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Makes New Investment in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in MercadoLibre by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,558,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,243,832,000 after acquiring an additional 236,744 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,964,000 after purchasing an additional 497,535 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in MercadoLibre by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 411,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,492,000 after buying an additional 23,699 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MercadoLibre by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 365,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,999,000 after buying an additional 33,801 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth $554,386,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded down $13.83 on Monday, hitting $1,693.57. The company had a trading volume of 375,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,417. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $85.86 billion, a PE ratio of 75.77, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.45. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,063.02 and a 52-week high of $1,825.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,546.28 and a 200 day moving average of $1,590.02.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $6.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.17% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 33.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MELI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, May 3rd. New Street Research cut MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on MercadoLibre from $1,800.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $1,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,881.92.

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.