O'Reilly Auto stock crosses $700 mark

Just before year's end, O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) stock crossed the $700 threshold.

On Dec. 29, the auto parts retailer's shares reached $710.16 per share. The next day, another 52-week high of $710.86 per share was hit.

O'Reilly Automotive's shares were trending toward the $700 mark earlier in December, Springfield Business Journal previously reported. Only five months earlier, the company's stock hit the $600 mark.

Industry publications show investment companies J.P. Morgan Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and Putnam Variable Trust have bought stock in O'Reilly Automotive in recent days. Stock market analysts, such as Investor's Business Daily, MarketGauge.com and Yahoo Finance, have recommended purchases of the stock in recent weeks.

Recent news from O'Reilly Automotive may also have played a part in the stock changes.

Jan. 1 marked the start of a leadership transition for the company. In preparation for his Feb. 15 retirement, co-President Jeff Shaw dropped the chief operating officer role, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month. That position went to Brad Beckham, and Brent Kirby, executive vice president of supply chain, was promoted to executive vice president and chief supply chain officer. O'Reilly Automotive co-President and CEO Greg Johnson is slated to become president and CEO upon Shaw's retirement.

The SEC filing disclosed the O'Reilly Automotive Board of Directors' human capital and compensation committee- approved annual base salaries of $600,000 apiece for Beckham and Kirby, along with eligibility for incentive compensation and stock option awards.

Additionally, O'Reilly Automotive in November announced a high-profile board appointment in Fred Whitfield, an executive of the Charlotte Hornets professional basketball organization and a longtime friend and business colleague of Michael Jordan.

For the third quarter, O'Reilly Automotive reported an 8.5% increase in revenue to $3.5 billion and a 6% jump in net income to $527.3 million. For the nine-month period that ended Sept. 30, sales were up to $10 billion from $8.8 billion in the same period of 2020. Net income for the nine months rose to $1.6 billion from $1.4 billion.

After exceeding $10 billion in revenue for the first time in 2019, the auto parts retailer in 2020 recorded sales of $11.6 billion. SBJ previously reported the company's next annual sales goal is $15 billion by 2027.