Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,817,616 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 117.0%, acquiring 2,817,616 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 5.70% valued at approximately $419.9 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Neuberger Berman Group LLC, also raised their holdings in RLI during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• RLI recently reported $0.84 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.75, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, with a yield of 0.9%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 117.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,226,797 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,817,616 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 5.70% of RLI worth $419,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLI by 56.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in RLI by 88.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of RLI stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 427,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 530,508. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $65.14 and a 12 month high of $91.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.11 and a 200 day moving average of $73.36. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. RLI's dividend payout ratio is 18.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,807,817.50. The trade was a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.