Jordan W. Graham Sells 1,500 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,093.58. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

RLI Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:RLI opened at $75.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.39. 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 50-day moving average price of $75.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.33. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (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, equities analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Compass Point lowered their price target on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in RLI by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.