Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 12,292 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 110.6%, acquiring an additional 12,292 shares and bringing its total to 23,406 shares worth $1.88 million.
• Several large investors, including TD Asset Management Inc. and Van Berkom & Associates Inc., significantly raised their positions in RLI during the 1st quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• RLI recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.16 per share from $0.15, with a current dividend yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 18.34%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 110.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,406 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,292 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in RLI were worth $1,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in RLI by 121.9% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 33,074 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 18,172 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its stake in RLI by 104.3% during the 1st 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 period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in RLI by 97.0% during the 1st quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 30,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in RLI by 175.7% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 5,183 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in RLI by 128.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,943 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,961 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on RLI. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLI opened at $65.80 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $71.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $65.14 and a 1 year high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.55 million. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. RLI's payout ratio is presently 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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