QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in RLI were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,469,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in RLI by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 14,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 8,883 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of RLI by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,613 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,035,000 after acquiring an additional 9,320 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, insider Jeffrey D. Fick bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.13 per share, with a total value of $144,260.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,859.93. This trade represents a 1.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774 in the last 90 days. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $76.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.46. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RLI shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, RLI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

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.