Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Acquires 500,787 Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,627,047 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 500,787 shares during the quarter. LegalZoom.com comprises 1.5% of Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in LegalZoom.com were worth $26,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LZ. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,041,847 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,913.15. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 purchased 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. The trade was a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

LegalZoom.com Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LZ opened at $6.00 on Wednesday. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.28 and a 12-month high of $12.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.02, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.31.

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

LegalZoom.com declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings cut LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price 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, UBS Group lowered their target price on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.75.

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.