2Xideas AG Boosts Stock Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

2Xideas AG boosted its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,923 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,411 shares during the period. RLI comprises approximately 1.8% of 2Xideas AG’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. 2Xideas AG owned about 0.09% of RLI worth $13,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in RLI by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in RLI in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE RLI opened at $76.75 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.39.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey D. Fick purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.13 per share, with a total value of $144,260.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,859.93. The trade was a 1.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, RLI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

About RLI

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.