Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 10,605 Shares of O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive by 14.7% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 61,501 shares valued at $88.11 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in O'Reilly Automotive, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by over 175,000% in the first quarter.
• O'Reilly Automotive's stock price recently rose by 2.3%, with a market cap of approximately $86.66 billion and a latest earnings report showing EPS of $0.78.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,501 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,605 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.11% of O'Reilly Automotive worth $88,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive by 175,115.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,822,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,610,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,202 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive by 197.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 303,484 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $434,765,000 after purchasing an additional 201,356 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 583,812 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $836,357,000 after purchasing an additional 147,904 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in O'Reilly Automotive by 294.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 157,410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $186,657,000 after purchasing an additional 117,542 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 5,128.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,034 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $136,407,000 after acquiring an additional 112,834 shares during the last quarter. 85.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at O'Reilly Automotive

In related news, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 29,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $2,898,866.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,234 shares in the company, valued at $415,990.50. The trade was a 87.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Ramon Parises Odems sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $2,720,900.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 240 shares in the company, valued at $21,767.20. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,840 shares of company stock worth $6,421,556 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

O'Reilly Automotive Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ORLY stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.47. The stock had a trading volume of 5,632,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,844,435. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $92.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.00. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.11 and a 52-week high of $104.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.78. O'Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.15% and a negative return on equity of 181.53%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.55 earnings per share. O'Reilly Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $98.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $102.22.

O'Reilly Automotive Company Profile

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The company provides new and remanufactured automotive hard parts and maintenance items, such as alternators, batteries, brake system components, belts, chassis parts, driveline parts, engine parts, fuel pumps, hoses, starters, temperature control, water pumps, antifreeze, appearance products, engine additives, filters, fluids, lighting products, and oil and wiper blades; and accessories, including floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories.