New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,512 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,076 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.26% of RLI worth $18,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLI by 237.7% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 207,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,864,000 after purchasing an additional 146,324 shares in the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC grew its position in RLI by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 612,081 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $90,876,000 after purchasing an additional 107,655 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in RLI by 585.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35,569 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in RLI by 2,611.1% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 34,838 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,901,000 after buying an additional 33,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 14.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 265,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,400,000 after buying an additional 33,435 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RLI shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Compass Point increased their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.40.

RLI Stock Up 4.7 %

RLI traded up $7.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.48. 140,248 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 153,903. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $125.77 and a one year high of $168.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $155.69 and its 200 day moving average is $148.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.41.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company's revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. RLI's payout ratio is 12.75%.

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.