Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,726 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of RLI worth $16,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $75.91 on Wednesday. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.32.

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

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point cut their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. This represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

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.