O’Reilly Automotive chairman sells 25K shares

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) board Chairman David O’Reilly exercised his contractual right to buy 25,000 shares at a set price before selling them at market value.

Under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Code M rule, company officials may purchase shares at set rates. According to an SEC filing last week, O’Reilly bought 25,000 shares at $28.70 apiece and sold them at roughly $250.56 apiece.

The action resulted in a profit of $5.5 million, according to the filing.

Also last week, O’Reilly Automotive stock hit a 52-week low of $234.14.

Shares since have recovered slightly and were trading at $249.24 as of 10:15 a.m. The company’s 52-week high is $292.84.

In April, the Springfield-based auto parts retailer reported a first-quarter earnings increase of 3.8 percent to $264.9 million.