108,318 Shares in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 108,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,854,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of RLI as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $2,146,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of RLI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,722 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of RLI by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 471,752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,759,000 after buying an additional 9,131 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of RLI by 104.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Up 1.3 %

RLI stock opened at $76.67 on Tuesday. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $67.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, insider Jeffrey D. Fick bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 142,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,246,859.93. This trade represents a 1.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.