MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI Shares Sold by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its position in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,269 shares during the period. MercadoLibre makes up about 1.8% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.14% of MercadoLibre worth $182,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MELI. Lavaca Capital LLC boosted its holdings in MercadoLibre by 140,201.3% in the second quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 1,066,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,786,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,530 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $698,848,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 304.7% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 255,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,744,000 after buying an additional 192,071 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 21.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 550,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,823,000 after buying an additional 96,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 155.3% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 147,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,775,000 after buying an additional 90,026 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MercadoLibre news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 45 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,027.37, for a total value of $91,231.65. Following the sale, the director directly owned 257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $521,034.09. This trade represents a 14.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stelleo Tolda sold 246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,047.88, for a total value of $503,778.48. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,136 shares of company stock worth $2,308,788 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MELI opened at $1,997.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2,098.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,293.39. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,646.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,645.22. The firm has a market cap of $101.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.42.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $8.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.88 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $7.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.19 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 39.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MELI shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,850.00 to $2,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $3,000.00 to $2,900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,900.00 to $2,750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,842.94.

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.