Wasatch Advisors LP Purchases 641,769 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,579,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 641,769 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 2.81% of RLI worth $147,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $604,542,000 after buying an additional 310,857 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in RLI by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,823,000 after acquiring an additional 124,687 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in RLI by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $140,260,000 after acquiring an additional 67,025 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in RLI by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,899,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $121,536,000 after acquiring an additional 112,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maren Capital LLC grew its position in RLI by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,701,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,841,000 after acquiring an additional 11,853 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.42 per share, with a total value of $106,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 102,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,465,827.56. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Clark C. Kellogg purchased 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.90 per share, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.50.

RLI Trading Up 4.1%

RLI opened at $57.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.41. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $47.26 and a 12 month high of $72.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.93.

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

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.82%.

RLI 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.