Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stock Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 773.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,716 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,574 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in RLI were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in RLI by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 471,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,759,000 after acquiring an additional 9,131 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $728,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $17,854,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $840,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $1,199,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $112,155.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $961,093.58. This trade represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $523,087.50. The trade was a 38.35 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

RLI Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of RLI stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 490,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,176. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.35. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.49. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.50 and a 52 week high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $442.20 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. RLI's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. RLI's dividend payout ratio is 19.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RLI. Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut RLI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

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.