RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Michael J. Stone Sells 200 Shares

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

RLI Price Performance

RLI opened at $170.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.46. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $126.71 and a 12 month high of $182.29.

RLI’s stock is set to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on RLI shares. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer began coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report 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, RLI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in RLI by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $680,866,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of RLI by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 931,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $131,045,000 after buying an additional 24,125 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,817,000 after buying an additional 50,654 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in RLI by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 813,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $126,110,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC increased its holdings in RLI by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 759,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.