Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in RLI Corp. by 37.2%, selling 11,654 shares, leaving it with 19,657 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• RLI recently reported better-than-expected earnings, with $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.75.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, representing a 1.0% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,657 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,654 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in RLI were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in RLI by 100.2% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,015 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 11,017 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in RLI by 108.8% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 12,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in RLI by 68.9% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,456 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in RLI during the first quarter worth approximately $48,628,000. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. raised its stake in RLI by 95.2% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 92,166 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,404,000 after purchasing an additional 44,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $67.04 on Monday. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $65.14 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.47 and a 200-day moving average of $72.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.55 million. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The business's revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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