Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in RLI were worth $10,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 4,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 145,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,361,000 after buying an additional 3,269 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in RLI by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in RLI by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 111,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,894,000 after acquiring an additional 19,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in RLI by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

RLI Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RLI opened at $148.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.37. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $123.04 and a 52-week high of $149.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.71.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.05 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.92%.

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.