53,021 Shares in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Purchased by ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.

ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 53,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,739,000. RLI comprises approximately 7.8% of ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of RLI at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in RLI by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in RLI by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 14,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 8,883 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 378.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 over the last quarter. 5.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RLI Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $74.59 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.81 and its 200 day moving average is $79.20. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.53 and a 52 week high of $91.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.46.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. On average, equities research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RLI. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.