Madison Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.68 Million in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,683,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 33,154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $428,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of RLI by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 46,514 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,698,000 after acquiring an additional 8,881 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in RLI by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 80,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,335,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in RLI by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Trading Down 0.7 %

RLI stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.51. The company had a trading volume of 403,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,130. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.39. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Remove Ads

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.80.

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.