Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.23 Million in Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Root, Inc., purchasing 9,203 shares valued at approximately $1.23 million, representing about 0.06% of the company's stock.
• Insiders sold over 21,000 shares of Root, with significant transactions from Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour and Beth A. Birnbaum, leading to a decrease in their respective ownership stakes.
• Root, Inc. reported a 32.4% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.29 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,228,000. Virtu Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Root as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Root by 5,575.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 256,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,266,000 after buying an additional 252,267 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,309,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,261,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Root by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 529,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,664,000 after buying an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Root in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 8,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.60, for a total value of $1,082,674.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 168,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,020,335.40. This represents a 4.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.60, for a total value of $686,433.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 281,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,782,837. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,083 shares of company stock worth $2,805,069 in the last 90 days. 11.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of ROOT stock traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $90.43. The stock had a trading volume of 531,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,423. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $123.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Root, Inc. has a one year low of $34.04 and a one year high of $181.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 2.25.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.23. Root had a return on equity of 38.24% and a net margin of 6.02%. The company had revenue of $382.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.52) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Root from $51.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Root from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Root from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Root from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Root from $172.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $128.00.

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.