Markel Group Inc. Buys Shares of 5,450 MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Markel Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,423,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MELI. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in MercadoLibre by 479.6% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 19,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,564,000 after acquiring an additional 16,063 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in MercadoLibre by 23.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in MercadoLibre by 72.9% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. AlpenGlobal Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of MercadoLibre in the 1st quarter valued at $6,837,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 60,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,796,000 after purchasing an additional 15,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of MELI traded up $44.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,852.22. 406,269 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,449. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,495.00 and a 52-week high of $2,548.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,675.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,827.82. The firm has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) 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 net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.74 EPS. MercadoLibre’s quarterly revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 40.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alejandro Nicolas Aguzin bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,655.93 per share, with a total value of $993,558.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at $8,867,505.15. The trade was a 12.62% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MELI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,050.00 to $1,750.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,000.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $2,100.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,255.33.

MercadoLibre Company 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.