Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Nora E. Lafreniere Sells 1,700 Shares

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total value of $163,047.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,390,748.57. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $95.99 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.06. Otis Worldwide Co. has a one year low of $89.37 and a one year high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $38.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. On average, research analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otis Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after purchasing an additional 8,161,946 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 58.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,871 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,662,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,988 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in Otis Worldwide by 699.5% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,705,000 after purchasing an additional 904,157 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 274.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 714,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,250,000 after buying an additional 523,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on OTIS shares. UBS Group began coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Company Profile

Otis Worldwide Corporation engages in manufacturing, installation, and servicing of elevators and escalators in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, New Equipment and Service. The New Equipment segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs a range of passenger and freight elevators, as well as escalators and moving walkways for residential and commercial buildings, and infrastructure projects.