RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Acquired by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 99.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,260 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 52,439 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of RLI worth $8,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RLI. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,272 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,476,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of RLI by 580.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,445,000 after purchasing an additional 354,219 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of RLI by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 650,583 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,261,000 after purchasing an additional 308,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP lifted its stake in RLI by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 574,807 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,174,000 after buying an additional 271,260 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Compass Point downgraded RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

RLI Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.78. 846,174 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,861. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.67. 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 fifty-two week low of $67.12 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.68.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $562.28 million for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.34%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

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.