Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 514,717 LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 514,717 LegalZoom shares worth approximately $2.9 million, representing about 0.30% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.99% of LegalZoom.
• LegalZoom reported quarterly revenue of $206.78 million, up 12.9% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $0.12 narrowly missed the $0.13 consensus forecast.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating with an $8.25 price target, while recent analysts lowered targets and insiders sold shares under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 514,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,918,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.30% of LegalZoom.com as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,600 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the first quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

LegalZoom.com stock opened at $8.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.22 and a 1 year high of $12.40. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.76.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.LegalZoom.com's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,041,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,169,913.15. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,364,480.76. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded LegalZoom.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

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.

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