NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

NewEdge Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,106 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $2,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in RLI by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in RLI by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in RLI by 16.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of RLI stock opened at $76.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.33. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other news, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.50 per share, with a total value of $145,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,215 shares in the company, valued at $523,087.50. The trade was a 38.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last 90 days. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their price target on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.