Champlain Investment Partners LLC Takes $48.63 Million Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired 605,352 shares of RLI Corp. valued at approximately $48.6 million, representing about 0.66% ownership of the company.
• RLI Corp. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, translating to an annualized basis of $0.64 and a yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on September 19th.
• The company reported a 20% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share surpassing analyst estimates at $0.84 for the quarter.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 605,352 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $48,628,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.66% of RLI as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% in 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. The trade was a 3.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, RLI presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Down 0.9%

RLI traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.15. 72,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $68.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.17. The company has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 0.65. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $65.14 and a one year high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Announces Dividend

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