2015 Year in Review No. 4: O’Reilly stock climbs, executives sell shares

SPRINGFIELD, FEB. 5—At the close of 2014, O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) stock hit a 52-week high, and in 2015 it didn’t stop climbing.

On Feb. 5, the stock crossed the $200 mark for the first time since the Springfield-based auto parts retailer’s initial public offering in April 1993.

O’Reilly went on to break its record 52-week high more than a dozen times, moving the stock price up 55 percent from a Jan. 16 low of $179 per share.

By March 15, the stock reached a new 52-week peak of $215.49. March 17 and 31 brought new records. The release of first-quarter results brought with it another high of $230.56 on April 23. By June 23, the high had reached a record $233.84 and, on the back of second-quarter results June 30, ORLY shares shot up to $247.

As of press time Dec. 16, shares were trading around $255.

The stock bump also led to a climb in the company’s Fortune 500 ranking, moving up nine spots on the 2015 list to rank No. 381.

The historic prices coincided with a flood of stock sales by O’Reilly executives totaling over $72 million in 2015.

A week after ORLY shares crossed the historical $200 threshold, five company directors and officers sold over 13,000 shares in separate transactions representing $2.75 million, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Later that month, four O’Reilly execs sold over 186,000 shares cumulatively valued at roughly $38.6 million. A week later, a company VP unloaded 48,616 shares valued at $10.2 million and a board member sold 360 shares for $75,038. Collectively in February, executives sold roughly 248,000 shares for over $50 million.

In June, Executive Vice President of Expansion Ted Wise sold another $3.4 million on his way to retirement, bringing his annual total to about $47 million.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the retailer posted net income of $266.3 million, a 23 percent jump. Diluted share earnings for the quarter rose 58 cents, representing the 27th consecutive quarter of at least 15 percent growth. The company opened 59 stores and closed one in the quarter, resulting in 4,523 stores.

As of Sept. 30, O’Reilly Auto’s assets were $6.8 billion.