Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 7,673 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 103.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,058 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,673 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in RLI were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 9,763 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of RLI by 99.6% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 112,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 56,208 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI by 105.5% during the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 253,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,329,000 after acquiring an additional 129,901 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 13,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 6,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Down 1.1%

RLI opened at $66.69 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $65.14 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.94 and a 200-day moving average of $73.77. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.66.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.55 million. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. RLI’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RLI. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Compass Point downgraded shares of RLI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

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.