Nuveen LLC Makes New $13.69 Million Investment in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in RLI Corp., purchasing 170,433 shares valued at approximately $13.69 million in the first quarter.
• RLI Corp.'s latest earnings report showed a net margin of 17.81% and a revenue of $562.28 million, exceeding analyst expectations significantly.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.9%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 170,433 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,691,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.19% of RLI as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in RLI by 95.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,996,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $722,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388,400 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,354,000 after buying an additional 1,197,272 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 100.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,334,112 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,169,000 after buying an additional 668,717 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,075,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,381,000 after buying an additional 549,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of RLI by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 953,056 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,559,000 after buying an additional 481,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI 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 acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI traded up $0.1550 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.5550. 320,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 610,004. The stock has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.66. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $65.14 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 business earned $1.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

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

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.