Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Takes Position in LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,744,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,106,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 241,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 56,404 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 667,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,924,000 after purchasing an additional 72,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter worth $677,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on LegalZoom.com from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, William Blair raised LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.42.

LegalZoom.com Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of LZ opened at $6.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.71. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.14 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 81.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22.

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

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

About LegalZoom.com

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.