Prudential Financial Inc. Has $533,000 Stock Holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 81.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,031 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in RLI were worth $533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 471,752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,759,000 after purchasing an additional 9,131 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $728,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $17,854,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the 4th quarter worth about $840,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLI in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,199,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $72.90 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.47. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.49.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RLI shares. Compass Point decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other 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 sale, the director now owns 12,854 shares in the company, valued at $961,093.58. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Angelina purchased 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.62 per share, for a total transaction of $159,764.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,586.68. This represents a 10.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 over the last ninety days. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.