Empirical Finance LLC Reduces Stock Position in O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in O’Reilly Automotive were worth $2,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,084,209 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,739,462,000 after acquiring an additional 75,837 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 3.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,850,655 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,954,404,000 after purchasing an additional 57,194 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,425,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,505,649,000 after purchasing an additional 19,211 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,045,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,180,259,000 after purchasing an additional 376,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $671,384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at O’Reilly Automotive

In related news, SVP Christopher Andrew Mancini sold 1,557 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $1,751,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Christopher Andrew Mancini sold 1,557 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $1,751,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dana Perlman sold 48 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,109.76, for a total value of $53,268.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,406.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,411 shares of company stock worth $56,846,062. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ORLY. DA Davidson raised their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of O’Reilly Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,124.00 to $1,115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, O’Reilly Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,144.06.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ORLY opened at $1,129.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,083.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,064.96. O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $860.10 and a fifty-two week high of $1,169.11.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $10.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.98 by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. O’Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.57% and a negative return on equity of 146.57%. O’Reilly Automotive’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. will post 41.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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.