Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank significantly increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 97.5%, owning 159,800 shares worth approximately $12.8 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Markel Group, also boosted their holdings in RLI during the first quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• RLI Corp. reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.84 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.75, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share.

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 97.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 78,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.17% of RLI worth $12,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of RLI by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,996,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388,400 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,197,272 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 104.3% during the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,075,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $86,381,000 after acquiring an additional 549,042 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 102.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 953,056 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,559,000 after acquiring an additional 481,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in RLI by 580.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,445,000 after acquiring an additional 354,219 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RLI. Compass Point lowered shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $67.38 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $65.14 and a one year high of $91.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 0.66.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. RLI's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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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