Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 434,589 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 88.6%, acquiring an additional 434,589 shares to own a total of 925,314 shares worth approximately $74.33 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC, significantly raised their holdings in RLI, with Vanguard's stake increasing by 95.2%.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings of $0.84 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $562.28 million, reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 88.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 925,314 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 434,589 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.01% of RLI worth $74,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in RLI by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.92. 465,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,892. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $65.14 and a 52 week high of $91.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $68.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.55 million. RLI had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 17.81%.The company's revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.34%.

RLI Company 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.