Insider Selling: RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Sells $33,910.00 in Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

RLI Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of RLI stock opened at $164.06 on Thursday. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $128.16 and a 52 week high of $182.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.46.

Shares of RLI are set to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $4.29 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is 12.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on RLI. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Compass Point boosted their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in RLI by 239.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of RLI by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 71,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,051,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of RLI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $944,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.