QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in RLI were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in RLI by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,359,000 after buying an additional 7,798 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,469,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in RLI by 8.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in RLI by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered their price target on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

RLI Price Performance

RLI opened at $76.77 on Tuesday. 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 $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 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 simple moving average of $76.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeffrey D. Fick acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.13 per share, with a total value of $144,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 142,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,246,859.93. This trade represents a 1.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the company’s 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 owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774 in the last 90 days. 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.