O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 802,700 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the February 28th total of 963,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 348,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at O’Reilly Automotive

In other news, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total transaction of $4,041,455.95. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,988,764.55. This trade represents a 21.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Andrea Weiss sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,311.23, for a total value of $325,185.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $592,675.96. This trade represents a 35.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 14,251 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 405.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 17,826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,528,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the third quarter worth $11,460,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 6,406.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,596,000 after buying an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 111.5% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ORLY traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1,431.80. The stock had a trading volume of 370,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,403. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,327.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,244.26. O’Reilly Automotive has a 52 week low of $947.49 and a 52 week high of $1,458.00. The company has a market capitalization of $81.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive are scheduled to split before the market opens 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.23. O’Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.28% and a negative return on equity of 166.88%. As a group, analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORLY has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,416.00 to $1,453.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,475.00 target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,390.81.

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.