Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 1,629 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in RLI were worth $1,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in RLI by 76.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of RLI stock opened at $76.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.50 and its 200 day moving average is $79.38. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,835.68. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. Company insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RLI. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.