Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,349 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $38,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the third quarter worth approximately $114,417,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,948,000 after purchasing an additional 10,272 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 205.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,923,000 after purchasing an additional 17,677 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 157,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,897,000 after purchasing an additional 43,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in MercadoLibre by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 50 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,984.98, for a total transaction of $99,249.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 238 shares in the company, valued at $472,425.24. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

Shares of MercadoLibre stock opened at $2,110.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,858.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,952.94. The firm has a market cap of $107.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,324.99 and a 12 month high of $2,161.73.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $2.40. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 40.71%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 32.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MELI. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,530.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised shares of MercadoLibre from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $2,250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,480.00 to $2,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MercadoLibre has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,244.69.

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.