O’Reilly Auto board approves repurchase of $1B more shares

O’Reilly Automotive Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ORLY) board voted once again to increase the total for its share repurchase program.

The addition of another $1 billion brings the aggregate authorization to $9.75 billion since January 2011, according to a news release and Springfield Business Journal archives.

The new three-year authorization started Sept. 1. Under the plan, O’Reilly Automotive may purchase its shares at market prices, but there’s no assurance any buybacks will be conducted.

The Springfield-based auto parts retailer last increased its share buyback program by $1 billion in May, according to a separate release.

O’Reilly Automotive recently reported second-quarter net income of $282.8 million, a 10 percent increase from a year earlier. During the second quarter ending June 30, the company spent $852 million buying back 3.5 million shares from stockholders.

Stock prices rose 2.5 percent this morning on the latest share repurchase news. Shares were trading at $202 as of 8:58 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $169.43 to $268.57.