Algert Global LLC Lowers Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Algert Global LLC trimmed its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 18,627 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in RLI were worth $891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in RLI by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,827 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,875 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, 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 transaction of $112,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $961,093.58. The trade was a 10.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,835.68. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 234,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,174. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.72. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $68.50 and a 1-year high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $36.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.20 million. RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. RLI's revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on RLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

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.