Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,533 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $148,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MercadoLibre by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in MercadoLibre by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Trading Down 2.3 %

MELI opened at $2,048.07 on Monday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a one year low of $1,324.99 and a one year high of $2,374.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,028.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,973.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.33, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.64.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.21 by $2.40. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 51.89% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. Analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of MercadoLibre from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $2,250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $2,402.81.

About MercadoLibre

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.