ORLY insiders sell shares after historic pricing

A week after O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) stock crossed a historical threshold, five company directors and officers sold over 13,000 shares in separate transactions, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

On Feb. 5, the Springfield-based auto parts retailer’s stock shot above $200 for the first time since it went public in April 1993, hitting a peak of $214.15 that day.

In the deals made Feb. 10-11, the largest earner was Tom Hendrickson, a board director since 2010 who sold 5,000 shares at $205.07 apiece, for a value of roughly $1.1 million.

Board Vice Chairman Larry O’Reilly made three separate deals - 979 shares at $206.03, 490 shares at $204.63 and 2,420 shares at $207.46 - valued at $804,035. The son of co-founder Chub O’Reilly has been a director since 1993.

Brad Beckham, the company’s senior vice president of eastern store operations and sales, sold 3,500 shares at $205.02 apiece, representing $717,581.

A director since 2004, John Murphy cashed out 326 shares at $204.55 apiece for $66,683.

O'Reilly General Counsel Jeffrey Groves sold 200 shares at $205.01 apiece and another 106 shares at $204.96 apiece, for a total $62,728, according to the SEC filings.

O'Reilly Automotive finished 2014 with earnings of $778.2 million, a 16.1 percent increase over 2013, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

ORLY shares were trading at $205.55 as of 11:38 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $141.08 to $214.15.[[In-content Ad]]