Polar Capital Holdings Plc Increases Holdings in RLI Corp. $RLI

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 687,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 152,500 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in RLI were worth $43,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth about $1,472,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 22,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 9,379 shares during the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 0.7% during 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 period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 3,202 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $179,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $53.42 per share, with a total value of $106,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 102,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,465,827.56. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $260,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 148,990 shares in the company, valued at $7,747,480. This trade represents a 3.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.50.

RLI Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE RLI opened at $54.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.33 and its 200-day moving average is $58.37. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $47.26 and a 12-month high of $74.00.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. RLI’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.