MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Bought by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 72.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 790 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,225,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,812,000 after acquiring an additional 408,939 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 296,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at $597,045,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 184.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 311,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,083,000 after purchasing an additional 202,322 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,012,773,000 after buying an additional 164,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MELI traded up $44.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,852.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 406,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,449. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,675.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,827.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.35. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,548.50.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MELI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their price target 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. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research cut MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 price target on MercadoLibre in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.