Howland Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. by 2.4%, holding 16,146 shares worth approximately $31.5 million, making it the 21st largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 87.62% of MercadoLibre's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by Capital Research Global Investors and Price T Rowe Associates during the last quarter.
• MercadoLibre reported $9.74 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue grew by 37.0% year-over-year, amounting to $5.94 billion.

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,146 shares of the company's stock after selling 398 shares during the period. MercadoLibre comprises about 1.4% of Howland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $31,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,415,815 shares of the company's stock worth $4,108,079,000 after buying an additional 179,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,687,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,868,869,000 after purchasing an additional 470,829 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,568,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,667,386,000 after purchasing an additional 308,973 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,394,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,370,848,000 after purchasing an additional 405,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,154,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,251,531,000 after purchasing an additional 18,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MELI shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,100.00 to $3,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Benchmark lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,690.29.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MELI opened at $2,373.89 on Friday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,579.78 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The stock has a market cap of $120.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2,458.47 and a 200 day moving average of $2,219.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $9.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.82 by $1.92. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 48.46%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.78 EPS. MercadoLibre's revenue was up 37.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MercadoLibre Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.