JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 817,462 Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) by 60.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 817,462 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.20% of LegalZoom.com worth $22,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 274,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 9,566 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 517.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 75,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 63,400 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $220,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 13.0% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 43.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 37,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LZ opened at $7.03 on Monday. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.14 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.63 and its 200-day moving average is $9.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.89, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.25.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The business had revenue of $190.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at LegalZoom.com

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total transaction of $154,644.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $104,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,480,860 shares in the company, valued at $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LZ shares. William Blair raised LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.42.

About LegalZoom.com

LegalZoom.com, Inc (NASDAQ: LZ) operates as a leading online legal technology company that provides a broad range of legal and business services to individuals, families and small businesses. Through its digital platform, the company offers customized legal documents and filing services, including business formation (LLCs, corporations and nonprofits), estate planning (wills and trusts), intellectual property protection (trademarks and copyrights), and ongoing compliance support. LegalZoom also connects customers with independent attorneys for consultations on matters such as family law, immigration and real estate.

Founded in 2001 by entrepreneurs Brian Lee, Brian P.