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

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,390,748.57. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.37 and a fifty-two week high of $106.33. The firm has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Montis Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

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.