MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,851 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.10% of MercadoLibre worth $77,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in MercadoLibre by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,162,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,964,000 after buying an additional 497,535 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,037,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,630,740,000 after buying an additional 4,317 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in MercadoLibre by 12.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 845,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,278,738,000 after buying an additional 95,029 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in MercadoLibre by 442.2% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 794,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,679,000 after buying an additional 648,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in MercadoLibre in the fourth quarter worth approximately $554,386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.62% of the company’s stock.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

MercadoLibre stock traded up $26.54 on Friday, reaching $1,651.69. 169,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,254. The stock has a market cap of $83.74 billion, a PE ratio of 73.90, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,141.04 and a twelve month high of $1,825.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,654.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,619.50.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $6.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 7.17% and a return on equity of 39.46%. The business’s revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 33.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MELI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. New Street Research lowered shares of MercadoLibre from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Dbs Bank raised shares of MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,900.00 to $1,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $1,800.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,922.08.

About MercadoLibre

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.