Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 146,324 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 237.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 207,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,324 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in RLI were worth $30,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in RLI in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies acquired a new position in RLI in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in RLI by 468.5% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Price Performance

NYSE:RLI traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $150.32. 161,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,433. The company has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $141.88 and a 200 day moving average of $142.99. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $125.77 and a 1-year high of $150.82.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $416.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.60 million. RLI had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 20.78%. RLI’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RLI shares. JMP Securities restated 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 price target on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.25.

RLI Company 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.