Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 49,570 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 89.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,874 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 49,570 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $604,542,000 after purchasing an additional 310,857 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in RLI by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,823,000 after purchasing an additional 124,687 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in RLI by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $140,260,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in RLI by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,938,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $124,005,000 after purchasing an additional 765,344 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in RLI by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,899,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,536,000 after buying an additional 112,541 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Clark C. Kellogg purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.90 per share, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,151.80. This represents a 199.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,500 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.99 per share, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,462.20. This trade represents a 34.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955. 2.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on RLI shares. Zacks Research raised RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of RLI from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of RLI from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.50.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $61.40 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $47.26 and a 52-week high of $71.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.51.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.47 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.82%.

RLI Company Profile

RLI Corporation (NYSE:RLI) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company focused on underwriting niche risks for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company operates through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering customized coverage solutions. RLI’s approach emphasizes disciplined underwriting, targeted product development and strong customer service to maintain profitability and long-term growth.

Founded in 1965 as Replacement Lens, Inc, RLI initially provided insurance for contact lens manufacturers before shifting its focus to specialty insurance in the 1980s.