RLI Corp. $RLI Shares Sold by Van Berkom & Associates Inc.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 19.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,145,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 274,442 shares during the quarter. RLI accounts for 2.3% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned about 1.25% of RLI worth $63,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at $492,175,000. Port Capital LLC acquired a new position in RLI during the second quarter worth $79,499,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in RLI by 40.7% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,318 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in RLI during the second quarter valued at $46,855,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in RLI by 311.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 688,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,262,000 after purchasing an additional 521,096 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $67.97 on Tuesday. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $47.26 and a one year high of $71.89. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.95.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $476.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $533.51 million. RLI had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 20.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 16.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on shares of RLI and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $74.00 target price on RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, RLI has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $62.40.

About RLI

RLI Corp. is a specialty insurance company that provides property, casualty and surety coverage through its subsidiaries. Its products serve businesses and individuals whose insurance needs may require specialized underwriting.

The company offers commercial liability and property insurance, personal umbrella coverage, and surety bonds, among other products. RLI distributes its policies primarily through independent agents and brokers and serves customers across the United States.

Founded in 1965, RLI began by providing replacement-cost coverage for mobile homes before expanding into a broader range of specialty insurance markets.