SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stake in RLI Corp. $RLI

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 48.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,428 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $604,542,000 after acquiring an additional 310,857 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in RLI by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $567,823,000 after purchasing an additional 124,687 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in RLI by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,260,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in RLI by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,938,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $124,005,000 after purchasing an additional 765,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in RLI by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,899,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $121,536,000 after purchasing an additional 112,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RLI shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.99 per share, with a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,462.20. The trade was a 34.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Clark C. Kellogg bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.90 per share, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,151.80. This trade represents a 199.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

RLI Price Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $62.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.38. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $47.26 and a 1-year high of $72.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.85.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.47 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.82%.

RLI Profile

RLI Corporation (NYSE:RLI) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company focused on underwriting niche risks for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company operates through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering customized coverage solutions. RLI’s approach emphasizes disciplined underwriting, targeted product development and strong customer service to maintain profitability and long-term growth.

Founded in 1965 as Replacement Lens, Inc, RLI initially provided insurance for contact lens manufacturers before shifting its focus to specialty insurance in the 1980s.