Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 218.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 250,210 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.40% of RLI worth $29,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 9,763 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in RLI by 99.6% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 112,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 56,208 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 13,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 6,612 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 112.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.78. The stock had a trading volume of 846,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,861. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.67.

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

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. RLI's payout ratio is presently 18.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Compass Point cut RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

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.