Bastion Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 192,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 165.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,730,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,481 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth about $20,686,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 180.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,797,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,014,000 after buying an additional 1,156,462 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,526,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 507.3% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,842,000 after buying an additional 922,829 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LegalZoom.com

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were bought at an average cost of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

Shares of LZ stock opened at $7.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.97. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.22 and a 1-year high of $12.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.36, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.31.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $206.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. LegalZoom.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup decreased 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com 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.