MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 22,907 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 97%, acquiring 22,907 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 46,518 shares valued at approximately $3.74 million.
• Institutional investors own 77.89% of RLI Corp., with significant increases in holdings by several funds during the first quarter.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings of $0.84 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.09, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,518 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,907 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of RLI worth $3,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 9,763 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of RLI by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 112,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 56,208 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 253,074 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,329,000 after acquiring an additional 129,901 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 41,476 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 20,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 13,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 6,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares of the company's stock, 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 through this link. 2.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $67.74 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $65.14 and a 1-year high of $91.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.95 and a 200-day moving average of $73.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.66.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 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 business had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. RLI's revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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