MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Purchased by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,930 shares during the period. MercadoLibre accounts for 2.0% of Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in MercadoLibre were worth $61,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MELI. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in MercadoLibre by 1,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in MercadoLibre by 750.0% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MercadoLibre during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 23 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MercadoLibre Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MELI opened at $1,952.44 on Tuesday. MercadoLibre, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,324.99 and a fifty-two week high of $2,161.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.89, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2,020.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,869.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Emiliano Calemzuk sold 50 shares of MercadoLibre stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,984.98, for a total value of $99,249.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,425.24. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James began coverage on MercadoLibre in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2,350.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of MercadoLibre in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,800.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,180.00 to $2,480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,250.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,480.00 to $2,450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,267.67.

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.