Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 40,665 Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 40,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Root as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Root by 966.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 16,348 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Root by 361.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 10,993 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Root by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 20,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Root during the third quarter valued at $428,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Root

In related news, CEO Alexander E. Timm sold 1,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $153,307.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 161,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,659,366.25. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mahtiyar Bonakdarpour sold 5,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.78, for a total value of $688,161.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,901 shares in the company, valued at $35,799,506.78. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,659 shares of company stock worth $1,191,469. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Root Stock Performance

Root stock opened at $118.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.51 and a beta of 2.41. Root, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.04 and a 1-year high of $181.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.53 and its 200 day moving average is $91.50.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.63) by $1.93. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $326.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.79 million. Research analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ROOT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $67.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Root from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Root in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.67.

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.