Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC Has $2.66 Million Stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC lessened its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 80.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,126 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 68,193 shares during the period. RLI makes up about 9.0% of Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC's holdings in RLI were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,476,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in RLI by 580.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $68,445,000 after buying an additional 354,219 shares in the last quarter. Nepsis Inc. raised its position in shares of RLI by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,876,000 after buying an additional 172,370 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 12.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth $17,854,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $112,155.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,745,835.68. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RLI shares. Compass Point downgraded RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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. Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

RLI Trading Up 0.6%

RLI stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.53. 67,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,287. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.06 and a 200-day moving average of $78.73. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $68.50 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.72.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $36.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

RLI 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.