MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Stock Holdings Lowered by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC significantly reduced its holdings in MercadoLibre, selling 26,591 shares and lowering its ownership by 78.6% during the first quarter.
• Despite a missed earnings per share estimate of $10.31 compared to the expected $12.01, MercadoLibre experienced a remarkable 33.8% revenue growth year over year, reaching $6.79 billion.
• A majority of analysts maintain a positive outlook, with 14 giving a buy rating and an average price target of $2,795 for MercadoLibre shares.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 78.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,241 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,591 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $14,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 221.9% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,746 shares of the company's stock worth $5,357,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Prospect Financial Services LLC grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 41.7% during the first quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 3,249 shares of the company's stock worth $5,525,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter worth approximately $316,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MELI has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $2,750.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush set a $2,700.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $3,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $3,000.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,817.22.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MELI traded up $93.18 on Friday, reaching $2,430.62. 433,602 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,124. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.03, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.46. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The business's 50-day moving average is $2,410.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,270.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $12.01 by ($1.70). The business had revenue of $6.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.57 billion. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 8.52%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current 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.