Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $110.05 Million Stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. $MELI

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 54,637 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,534 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $110,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MELI. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in MercadoLibre by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,481,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,012,773,000 after buying an additional 164,120 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of MercadoLibre by 3.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,816,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,244,604,000 after acquiring an additional 59,838 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,740,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,067,194,000 after acquiring an additional 22,659 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of MercadoLibre by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 572,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,432,565,000 after acquiring an additional 50,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in MercadoLibre by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 497,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MELI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Itau BBA Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on MercadoLibre from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut MercadoLibre from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,800.00 to $2,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,685.33.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MercadoLibre stock opened at $1,841.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,756.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,968.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.41. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,593.21 and a 12-month high of $2,645.22.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $11.03 earnings per share for the quarter. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 33.73% and a net margin of 6.91%.The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MercadoLibre, Inc. will post 47.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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.