RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 112.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,041 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 115.5% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 174,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,034,000 after acquiring an additional 93,635 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in RLI by 125.4% during the 1st quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 16,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 8,939 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in RLI by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,307,000 after purchasing an additional 31,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new stake in RLI in the 1st quarter valued at about $549,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $67.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $91.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.67.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s payout ratio is 18.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

RLI Profile

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.