JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Position in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,749 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.70% of Root worth $3,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 2,355.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 11,118 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Root by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,547,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Root by 5.5% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ROOT. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities downgraded Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Root from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp lowered Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.38.

Insider Activity

In other Root news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 118,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total value of $9,768,629.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock valued at $20,440,479 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Root Stock Down 3.4 %

Root stock opened at $85.31 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of -69.36 and a beta of 2.55. Root, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.15.

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