Squarepoint Ops LLC Reduces Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lowered its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 64.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,810 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,052 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in RLI were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,476,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in RLI by 580.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,445,000 after acquiring an additional 354,219 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in RLI by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,024,518 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $168,907,000 after acquiring an additional 116,088 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,854,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in RLI by 326.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 111,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,451,000 after acquiring an additional 85,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at RLI

In related news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,745,835.68. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $961,093.58. This represents a 10.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.93. 338,991 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 371,039. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.82. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $68.50 and a 1 year high of $91.15. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.70. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $36.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on RLI shares. Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.