Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 61.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 853 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $1,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MercadoLibre during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 171.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ MELI opened at $2,009.34 on Monday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,324.99 and a 1 year high of $2,374.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,942.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,969.65.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $12.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.21 by $2.40. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. MercadoLibre had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 51.89%. Analysts predict that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 43.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MELI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,480.00 to $2,450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James raised shares of MercadoLibre from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $2,250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,150.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,402.81.

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.