RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Sold by Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lowered its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 34,630 shares during the quarter. RLI makes up 2.7% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in RLI were worth $37,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Nepsis Inc. boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,876,000 after buying an additional 172,370 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter valued at $17,854,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in RLI during the 3rd quarter worth $9,931,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in RLI during the 3rd quarter worth $9,458,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of RLI by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. Insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $75.95 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.34.

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 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 expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on RLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point reduced their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.80.

RLI Company 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.