Insider Selling: Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) CEO Sells 28,440 Shares of Stock

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total value of $2,723,698.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,041,752.81. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Judith Fran Marks also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 5th, Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of Otis Worldwide stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $3,588,712.92.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of OTIS opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $89.37 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share 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 given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Otis Worldwide

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Otis Worldwide

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.