Bridges Investment Management Inc. Buys New Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in RLI by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in RLI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $52,592,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of RLI by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 7,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter valued at about $369,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $152.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.35. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $125.77 and a 52-week high of $155.59.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $416.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.60 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.78% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Compass Point decreased their price target on shares of RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.25.

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.