RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Bought by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI – Get Rating) by 212.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,448 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.18% of RLI worth $10,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RLI. State Street Corp raised its holdings in RLI by 1.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,723,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $522,518,000 after acquiring an additional 89,655 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of RLI by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,659,752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $477,065,000 after acquiring an additional 96,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of RLI by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 901,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,283,000 after acquiring an additional 5,027 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of RLI by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 771,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $101,318,000 after acquiring an additional 179,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management raised its stake in RLI by 7.1% during the third quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 692,029 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,850,000 after acquiring an additional 46,159 shares during the period. 80.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RLI shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $136.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

RLI Price Performance

RLI opened at $130.04 on Tuesday. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $100.96 and a 12 month high of $149.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.67.

RLI (NYSE:RLI – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $364.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.12 million. RLI had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 35.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 4,239 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $618,894.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 215,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,503,734. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other RLI news, Director Michael E. Angelina acquired 213 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $131.41 per share, with a total value of $27,990.33. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,397 shares in the company, valued at $1,629,089.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Stone sold 4,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $618,894.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 215,779 shares in the company, valued at $31,503,734. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

RLI Profile

(Get Rating)

RLI Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in the provision of insurance and underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Casualty, Property and Surety. The Casualty segment offers healthcare and transportation insurance. The Property segment consists of commercial fire, earthquake, difference in conditions, marine, facultative and treaty reinsurance, including crop and select personal lines policies, including pet insurance and homeowners reinsurance services.