Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Sells 15,879 Shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Key Points

• Sustainable Growth Advisers LP reduced its MercadoLibre stake by 17% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,879 shares and ending with 77,283 shares valued at about $155.7 million.
• MercadoLibre shares rose 2.1% and opened at $1,730.98, with the stock trading near its 50-day average but below its 200-day average.
• The company missed earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting EPS of $8.23 versus $8.75 expected, even as revenue jumped 49% year over year to $8.85 billion and analyst sentiment remained a Moderate Buy.

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lessened its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,283 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,879 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned approximately 0.15% of MercadoLibre worth $155,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Weitz Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,647,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 48,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,414,000 after purchasing an additional 7,570 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,042,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 14,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 129.7% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 2,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.62% of the company's stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 2.1%

MELI stock opened at $1,730.98 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,495.00 and a 12-month high of $2,645.22. The stock has a market cap of $87.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.68, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $1,720.80 and its 200 day moving average is $1,898.53.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 29.58% and a net margin of 6.04%.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 previous year, the firm posted $9.74 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 49.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,867,505.15. This represents a 12.62% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MELI. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1,800.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lowered MercadoLibre from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $2,200.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 target price on MercadoLibre in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MercadoLibre has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,255.33.

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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