Geode Capital Management LLC Has $168.91 Million Stock Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,024,518 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 116,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.12% of RLI worth $168,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in RLI by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,608,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $759,577,000 after acquiring an additional 41,884 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $680,866,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of RLI by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 490,725 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,886,000 after purchasing an additional 18,199 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,476,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in RLI by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 471,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,759,000 after purchasing an additional 9,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Compass Point decreased their price target on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.80.

RLI Trading Up 0.1 %

RLI traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.44. The stock had a trading volume of 478,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,846. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $76.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41 and a beta of 0.49. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.53 and a 52 week high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, Director Michael E. Angelina bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.62 per share, with a total value of $159,764.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,707,586.68. This represents a 10.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774 in the last quarter. 5.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.