Markel Group Inc. Acquires 1,197,272 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 100.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,197,272 shares during the quarter. RLI accounts for 1.7% of Markel Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Markel Group Inc. owned approximately 2.61% of RLI worth $192,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLI by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,479,000 after acquiring an additional 127,217 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLI by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 98,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,902,000 after acquiring an additional 50,951 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of RLI by 103.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,847,000 after buying an additional 94,015 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLI by 56.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in RLI by 72.9% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Compass Point downgraded shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $70.20. The company had a trading volume of 648,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,526. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $69.16 and a 1-year high of $91.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

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.