O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,475.00 price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,325.00 to $1,425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of ORLY opened at $1,339.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,304.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,231.37. O’Reilly Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $947.49 and a fifty-two week high of $1,389.05. The stock has a market capitalization 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 scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other O’Reilly Automotive news, Director Maria Sastre sold 248 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.17, for a total transaction of $326,410.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 971 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,001.07. This trade represents a 20.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total transaction of $4,041,455.95. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,988,764.55. This represents a 21.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock worth $10,409,618. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORLY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at about $867,190,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 73.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,725,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,986,874,000 after acquiring an additional 728,040 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 205,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 503,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $597,602,000 after acquiring an additional 503,720 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,248,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 28.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 601,612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $692,816,000 after acquiring an additional 133,139 shares during the last quarter. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.