Legal & General Group Plc Raises Holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,955 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.05% of Root worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Root by 651.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Root during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Root during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $154,000. FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new stake in Root in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in Root in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROOT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Root from $90.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Root Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $151.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.45 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $132.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.85. Root, Inc. has a one year low of $34.04 and a one year high of $181.14.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.79 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Root Profile

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.