O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

ORLY has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,475.00 price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,325.00 to $1,425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,416.00 to $1,453.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,305.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, O’Reilly Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock traded down $4.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,339.09. The stock had a trading volume of 510,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,180. O’Reilly Automotive has a 12 month low of $947.49 and a 12 month high of $1,389.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,304.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,231.37. The stock has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91.

O’Reilly Automotive’s stock is going to split on Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.23. O’Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 166.88% and a net margin of 14.28%. Analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total value of $4,041,455.95. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,397 shares in the company, valued at $14,988,764.55. This represents a 21.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brad W. Beckham sold 833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,300.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000. This trade represents a 52.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,163,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,122,607,000 after acquiring an additional 17,325 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,725,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,986,874,000 after purchasing an additional 728,040 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,479,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,700,513,000 after purchasing an additional 24,135 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,443,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,711,750,000 after purchasing an additional 11,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 799,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $948,460,000 after buying an additional 46,979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

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.