Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Trims Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. cut its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 36,199 shares during the quarter. RLI makes up 2.6% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned about 0.57% of RLI worth $86,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in RLI by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in RLI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $74.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 0.46. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $91.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 15.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.50 per share, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,215 shares in the company, valued at $523,087.50. The trade was a 38.35 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. 5.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point dropped their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.