Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Sells $450,807.75 in Stock

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,358.07. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $94.83 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $37.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.01.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 1.65%. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is 38.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on OTIS. Wolfe Research downgraded Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 decreased their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otis Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of OTIS. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Otis Worldwide by 485.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.