Pictet North America Advisors SA Trims Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Pictet North America Advisors SA reduced its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,379 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $8,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,161,946 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,031,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,045,000 after acquiring an additional 152,072 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,863,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,871 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,378,000 after acquiring an additional 229,523 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,680,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,546,000 after acquiring an additional 391,206 shares during the period. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OTIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded 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 given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. This trade represents a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $3,588,712.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $97.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.09. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12-month low of $90.12 and a 12-month high of $106.33.

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

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide 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.