MetLife Investment Management LLC Purchases 255 Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Root were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Root by 241.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 40,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 28,386 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in Root in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Root by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Root during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Price Performance

Shares of Root stock opened at $137.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.00 and a beta of 2.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.62. Root, Inc. has a one year low of $34.04 and a one year 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.79 million. Equities analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In other Root news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 1,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $153,307.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 161,625 shares in the company, valued at $21,659,366.25. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Doug Ulman sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,175. This trade represents a 24.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 233,659 shares of company stock worth $31,748,719. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Root from $90.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Six 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.67.

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.