Valmark Advisers Inc. Invests $918,000 in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Root by 651.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 421 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Root in the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Root by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Root in the fourth quarter worth $154,000. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC bought a new position in shares of Root in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Root

In related news, Director Jerri Devard sold 1,895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $268,142.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,622,278. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 225,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 503,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,421,078. This trade represents a 30.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,742 shares of company stock valued at $34,203,788 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.76% of the company's stock.

Root Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Root stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 681,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,782. 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 $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 2.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $138.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.62. Root had a net margin of 4.11% and a return on equity of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $349.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.42) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 37.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Root from $105.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Root in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Root from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.40.

Root 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.