Royce & Associates LP Sells 9,043 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,550 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,043 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.13% of RLI worth $18,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in RLI by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,879 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in RLI by 2.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in RLI by 76.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in RLI by 2.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.50 per share, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,087.50. This trade represents a 38.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774. Insiders own 5.09% of the company's stock.

RLI Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded up $0.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.22. 599,358 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 325,493. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.39. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $91.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, RLI presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.80.

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.