Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $1.22 Million Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth about $80,476,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 580.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,445,000 after buying an additional 354,219 shares during the period. Nepsis Inc. grew its holdings in RLI by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,876,000 after acquiring an additional 172,370 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in RLI by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,024,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $168,907,000 after acquiring an additional 116,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $17,854,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock opened at $76.23 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.44. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.49. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 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, research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Compass Point dropped their price objective on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought 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 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 have bought a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

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.