230,709 Shares in Root, Inc. $ROOT Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. acquired 230,709 shares of Root, Inc., valued at approximately $30.8 million, representing 1.52% ownership of the company as of the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Root's stock, with price targets ranging from $105 to $165, and an overall consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $123.83.
• Root reported a quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 32.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $382.9 million.

American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 230,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,786,000. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.52% of Root at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Root during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Root by 651.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Root during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Root by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Root during the 1st quarter valued at about $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROOT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Root from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Root from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Root from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.83.

Root Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROOT traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.94. The stock had a trading volume of 262,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,331. Root, Inc. has a one year low of $34.04 and a one year high of $181.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $113.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.34.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.23. Root had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 38.24%. The business had revenue of $382.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.52) EPS. The company's revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,256 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.60, for a total value of $686,433.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 281,645 shares in the company, valued at $36,782,837. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jerri Devard sold 1,895 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $268,142.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,622,278. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,083 shares of company stock worth $2,805,069 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.76% 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.