O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) SVP Sells $2,898,866.25 in Stock

Key Points

• Mark Joseph Merz, Senior Vice President of O'Reilly Automotive, sold 29,505 shares of the company's stock for approximately $2.9 million, reducing his holdings by 87.45%.
• O'Reilly Automotive's stock price recently traded at $98.32, reflecting a 1.1% decrease, with a market capitalization of $84.05 billion.
• Recent analysts' reports indicate a generally positive outlook for O'Reilly Automotive, with price targets raised to as high as $114.00 by Citigroup, amidst strong institutional interest.

O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY - Get Free Report) SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 29,505 shares of O'Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total transaction of $2,898,866.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $415,990.50. This represents a 87.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Mark Joseph Merz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 29th, Mark Joseph Merz sold 5,050 shares of O'Reilly Automotive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.07, for a total transaction of $500,303.50.

O'Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

ORLY traded up $1.52 on Monday, reaching $100.64. The company had a trading volume of 906,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,681,751. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.11 and a fifty-two week high of $100.80. The stock has a market cap of $86.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.98 and its 200 day moving average is $90.53.

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78. O'Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.15% and a negative return on equity of 181.53%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. will post 43.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 1,099.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 70,854 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 64,948 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 1,295.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 52,445 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,727,000 after acquiring an additional 48,686 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 1,735.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,914 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 11,265 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of O'Reilly Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 1,781.6% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,386 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 16,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of O'Reilly Automotive from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $102.22.

About O'Reilly Automotive

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.