Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $80.94 Million Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $80,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MELI. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 1.0%

MELI stock opened at $1,648.04 on Wednesday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,495.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.50, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,720.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,909.87.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MELI. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wedbush reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,100.00 to $1,900.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,255.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This trade represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.