The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires Shares of 3,177 Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 4th quarter valued at $29,661,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Root by 163.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 127,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,286,000 after purchasing an additional 79,317 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Root by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 263,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,129,000 after purchasing an additional 77,699 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Root by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 526,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,250,000 after purchasing an additional 73,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Root during the 4th quarter valued at $2,952,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROOT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Root from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Root from $105.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 225,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.81, for a total transaction of $30,557,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 503,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,421,078. This represents a 30.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,515 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 286,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,799,506.78. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 233,659 shares of company stock worth $31,748,719 in the last quarter. 11.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Root Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROOT opened at $135.74 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $138.27 and a 200 day moving average of $109.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -110.36 and a beta of 2.40. Root, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.04 and a 1-year high of $181.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $349.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.24 million. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. Root’s quarterly revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.42) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.