Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 3,892 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in RLI were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of RLI during the third quarter worth $661,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in RLI by 28.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,344,000 after acquiring an additional 16,725 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.7% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of RLI by 1.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,082,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,097,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of RLI in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI opened at $147.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.63 and its 200-day moving average is $139.50. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $149.20.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $444.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.05 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.25.

About RLI

RLI Corp., an insurance holding company, underwrites property and casualty insurance. Its Casualty segment provides commercial and personal coverage products; and general liability products, such as coverage for third-party liability of commercial insureds, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile.