Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases 8,881 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,514 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,881 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.05% of RLI worth $7,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of RLI by 8.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 46.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 120,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 16.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of RLI by 2.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $74.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 0.39. 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 Corp. has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Insider Activity at RLI

In related news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Angelina bought 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.62 per share, for a total transaction of $159,764.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,586.68. The trade was a 10.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774. 5.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their price target 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.