2Xideas AG Buys 26,411 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

2Xideas AG lifted its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,923 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,411 shares during the period. RLI comprises approximately 1.8% of 2Xideas AG's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. 2Xideas AG owned approximately 0.09% of RLI worth $13,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,476,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of RLI by 580.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,445,000 after buying an additional 354,219 shares during the period. Nepsis Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,876,000 after buying an additional 172,370 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in RLI by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,024,518 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $168,907,000 after buying an additional 116,088 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in RLI in the 4th quarter worth about $17,854,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.80.

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RLI Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of RLI stock traded up $0.42 on Friday, hitting $76.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 135,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,246. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.49. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $67.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $76.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. Research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other RLI news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $961,093.58. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 over the last 90 days. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

RLI Company Profile

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.