Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 317,875 Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) by 61.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 831,051 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 317,875 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in LegalZoom.com were worth $4,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LZ. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 14,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 13,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LegalZoom.com

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,364,480.76. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,041,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,913.15. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LZ shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report 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 issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ LZ opened at $7.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 131.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.80. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.22 and a 52 week high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) 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.