Legal & General Group Plc Has $531.76 Million Holdings in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 3.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 323,570 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,265 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $531,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in MercadoLibre by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 489 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MercadoLibre in the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Down 1.7 %

MercadoLibre stock opened at $2,064.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.61. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,141.04 and a fifty-two week high of $2,161.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,932.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,706.72.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $10.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $1.95. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.52% and a net margin of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 35.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2,350.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $2,530.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,180.00 to $2,480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,217.50.

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.