6,589 Shares in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Root in the second quarter worth $1,280,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Root by 2,355.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 11,118 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Venator Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Root during the second quarter worth about $9,547,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROOT shares. Citizens Jmp lowered Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities cut Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.13.

Root Price Performance

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $72.59 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.96 and its 200-day moving average is $59.54. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $118.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -59.02 and a beta of 2.47.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($3.16) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 EPS 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.