MML Investors Services LLC Makes New Investment in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 7,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Root by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the 2nd quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Root by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Root stock opened at $72.77 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.65. Root, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.16 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The company had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. Root’s revenue was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($3.16) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on ROOT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Root news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $4,320,304.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,647.56. This represents a 99.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Root Company 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.