RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 941,185 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,609 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.03% of RLI worth $155,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of RLI by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in RLI during the fourth quarter worth $2,423,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 773.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 18,716 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,085,000 after acquiring an additional 16,574 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.50 per share, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,215 shares in the company, valued at $523,087.50. This represents a 38.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $214,484.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,835.68. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point lowered RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

RLI Trading Up 1.3 %

RLI stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $73.89. The stock had a trading volume of 419,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,657. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $76.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.38. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.50 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 0.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.20 million. RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. The company's revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.74%.

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.