JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $5.69 Million Holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,155 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.52% of Root worth $5,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Root during the 4th quarter worth about $372,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Root by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 526,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,250,000 after acquiring an additional 73,413 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Root during the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Root during the 4th quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Root

In related news, Director Doug Ulman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,175. This represents a 24.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.78, for a total value of $688,161.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,799,506.78. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,659 shares of company stock valued at $1,191,469. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Root Price Performance

ROOT opened at $129.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -105.48 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Root, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.04 and a 52 week high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.63) by $1.93. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.79 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

About Root

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.