RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Stake Boosted by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in RLI in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in RLI by 5.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,697,000 after purchasing an additional 24,819 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in RLI in the third quarter worth approximately $478,000. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 61.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 24,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after buying an additional 9,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. 5.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

RLI Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:RLI opened at $76.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.39.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. On average, equities analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. RLI’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

About RLI

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.