Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $177.85 Million Stock Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its MercadoLibre stake by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 88,261 shares valued at about $177.85 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 87.62% of MercadoLibre’s stock held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several other funds also made small increases in their positions.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $2,255.33, even after MercadoLibre’s latest earnings missed EPS estimates while revenue rose 49% year over year.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,261 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.17% of MercadoLibre worth $177,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 35.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MELI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $2,150.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1,800.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,255.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin purchased 600 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MELI opened at $1,674.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.36. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,495.00 and a 1 year high of $2,645.22. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,713.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,867.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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