Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 862,045 Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its LegalZoom stake by 579.1%, acquiring 862,045 additional shares for a total of 1,010,914 shares valued at approximately $5.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.99% of the company.
• Insider activity was mixed: CEO Jeffrey Stibel purchased 125,000 shares, while insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax obligations.
• Analyst sentiment remains divided, with LegalZoom holding an average “Hold” rating and an $8.25 price target after several firms lowered their targets. The stock opened at $8.08, while the company’s latest revenue rose 12.9% year over year despite a slight earnings-per-share miss.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ - Free Report) by 579.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,010,914 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 862,045 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of LegalZoom.com worth $5,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total transaction of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,364,480.76. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. This represents a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 6.9%

NASDAQ LZ opened at $8.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 134.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.83. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.22 and a 52 week high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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