LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.4167.

LZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,390,408.79. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $104,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,306,785.60. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 63,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 18,814 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,990,000 after buying an additional 48,894 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 224,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 33,543 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 6,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter worth about $2,051,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

LegalZoom.com Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:LZ opened at $5.66 on Wednesday. LegalZoom.com has a 12-month low of $5.44 and a 12-month high of $12.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $977.86 million, a P/E ratio of 70.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.25.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted 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 return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The business had revenue of $190.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.