Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $106.83 and last traded at $106.16, with a volume of 799810 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OTIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $40.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.97.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total value of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,127.67. The trade was a 99.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,358.07. This trade represents a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Otis Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $29,451,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 219,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,325,000 after buying an additional 79,200 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

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.