Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in RLI were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Nepsis Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,876,000 after purchasing an additional 172,370 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI in the third quarter valued at $9,931,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of RLI in the third quarter valued at $9,458,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $680,866,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 5.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $140,817,000 after purchasing an additional 50,654 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:RLI opened at $75.91 on Wednesday. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. Analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered their price target on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.50 per share, with a total value of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,087.50. This represents a 38.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by 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.