Independent Advisor Alliance Has $2.86 Million Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in RLI Corp. by 99.4%, acquiring 17,771 additional shares, bringing its total to 35,642 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million.
• In the same quarter, Vanguard Group raised its stake by 95.2%, now holding nearly 9 million shares worth around $722 million, indicating significant institutional interest in RLI.
• RLI recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.16 per share, up from $0.15, reflecting a positive growth trend with a current dividend yield of 1.0%.

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 99.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,642 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,771 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in RLI were worth $2,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.69. The stock had a trading volume of 418,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,913. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $65.14 and a 1-year high of $91.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.76. 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 has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.66.

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

RLI Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Compass Point downgraded shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

About RLI

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.