Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Buys New Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 29,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,297,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ owned approximately 0.06% of MercadoLibre at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the company's stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,937 shares of the company's stock worth $3,294,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth approximately $481,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MELI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen cut MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,572.86.

MercadoLibre Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $16.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2,562.22. 405,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 383,003. The stock has a market cap of $129.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.61. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,550.00 and a 12-month high of $2,635.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2,233.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,038.68.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.82 by $1.92. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.55 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 51.89% and a net margin of 9.20%. MercadoLibre's quarterly revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.