Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 43,873 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,873 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of MercadoLibre worth $81,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 375.0% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 19 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MELI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,640.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $2,975.00 price target (up previously from $2,840.00) on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,645.94.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MercadoLibre stock traded down $12.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $2,501.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 311,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,712. The stock has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a PE ratio of 61.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $2,469.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,139.17. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,579.78 and a 52 week high of $2,645.22.

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

MercadoLibre 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.