Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,648 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.26% of Root worth $13,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Root during the fourth quarter valued at about $154,000. FreeGulliver LLC bought a new position in shares of Root during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter valued at about $249,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 1,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total transaction of $153,307.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,659,366.25. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 286,901 shares in the company, valued at $35,799,506.78. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,659 shares of company stock worth $1,191,469. 11.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Root Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Root stock opened at $129.74 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -105.48 and a beta of 2.41. Root, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.04 and a 52-week high of $181.14. 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 (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.63) by $1.93. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The company had revenue of $326.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.79 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ROOT shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.