Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Increases Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,341,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,207 shares during the period. RLI makes up about 2.5% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned about 1.46% of RLI worth $76,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RLI. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in RLI by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 607,176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,847,000 after acquiring an additional 48,563 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in RLI by 1,030.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 31,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in RLI by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $604,542,000 after acquiring an additional 310,857 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in RLI by 39.8% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 34,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 9,932 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth about $1,535,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 150,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,851,480. This trade represents a 1.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.72 per share, with a total value of $105,440.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,644.96. This represents a 1.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955 in the last ninety days. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $61.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.46. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $47.26 and a 1-year high of $71.11. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. RLI had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 20.81%.The business had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is 16.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.