Appleton Partners Inc. MA Increases Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 100.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,665 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in RLI were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of RLI in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 132.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $72.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.50 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.79.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $36.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.60.

RLI 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.