RLI Corp. $RLI Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 127.8% in the first quarter, owning 104,555 shares valued at approximately $8.35 million.
• RLI Corp. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, with a 1.0% dividend yield, to be paid on September 19th.
• RLI's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.84, exceeding estimates, with quarterly revenue rising by 20% year-over-year.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 127.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,555 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,650 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of RLI worth $8,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,817.50. This trade 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 this link. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

RLI Stock Up 0.2%

RLI stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 427,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,663. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $64.74 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $67.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.50.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. RLI had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 17.81%.The firm had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

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

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.