JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Position in LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase increased its LegalZoom stake by 60.4% in Q3 to 2,170,327 shares (about 1.22% ownership), adding 817,462 shares valued at roughly $22.53 million.
• LegalZoom authorized a $100 million share repurchase (up to ~8.1% of outstanding shares) and reported Q results with revenue of $190.27M (+17.7% YoY) that beat estimates while EPS missed slightly at $0.17 vs. $0.18 expected.
• Insiders have been selling (CFO Noel Watson sold 15,000 shares; Nicole Miller sold 23,325), institutions own about 81.99% of the stock, and analysts show a consensus "Hold" with a $9.42 target.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,170,327 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 817,462 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.22% of LegalZoom.com worth $22,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com in the third quarter worth $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

LegalZoom.com Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LZ opened at $5.98 on Wednesday. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.89 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 74.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.12.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $190.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.85 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised LegalZoom.com from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.42.

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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