Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Has $17.26 Million Stock Position in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,570 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $17,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 238.3% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,089,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MercadoLibre in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,647,000. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,179,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 2,494.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 15,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,943,000 after buying an additional 14,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 7,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,641,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

Shares of MELI stock opened at $1,674.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,713.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.36. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a one year low of $1,495.00 and a one year high of $2,645.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $8.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.75 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. MercadoLibre’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MercadoLibre

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,655.93 per share, for a total transaction of $993,558.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. This trade 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $3,500.00 to $2,800.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 price objective on MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,780.00 to $2,380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Profile

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.