Bruce & Co. Inc. Sells 2,000 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Bruce & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. RLI comprises about 1.1% of Bruce & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Bruce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in RLI were worth $3,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nepsis Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 172,370 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,854,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,931,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the third quarter worth approximately $9,458,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock opened at $76.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $91.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.39.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. As a group, analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their price target 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,093.58. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick bought 2,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 142,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,246,859.93. The trade was a 1.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. Insiders own 5.09% 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.