Equitable Trust Co. Sells 2,859 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. sharply cut its MercadoLibre stake by 93.8% in the first quarter, selling 2,859 shares and leaving it with just 188 shares worth about $325,000.
• Despite that sale, MercadoLibre remains heavily held by institutions, with 87.62% of shares owned by institutional investors; several other funds recently increased their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive but have trimmed some price targets after recent results: MercadoLibre missed EPS estimates in its latest quarter even as revenue jumped 49% year over year, and the stock closed at $1,852.22 on Friday.

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 93.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,859 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,943,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 238.3% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company's stock worth $4,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company's stock worth $22,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Deepwater Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 40,184 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,941,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,150.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1,800.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,255.33.

Insider Activity at MercadoLibre

In related news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

NASDAQ MELI traded up $44.39 on Friday, hitting $1,852.22. 406,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,449. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,495.00 and a 1-year high of $2,548.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,675.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,827.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.35.

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

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.

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