Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,285 shares during the quarter. Otis Worldwide comprises approximately 1.1% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $4,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 8,161,946 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 58.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,871 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,662,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,988 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 699.5% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,705,000 after acquiring an additional 904,157 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 274.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 714,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,250,000 after purchasing an additional 523,518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total transaction of $163,047.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,390,748.57. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,127.67. This represents a 99.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Otis Worldwide Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:OTIS opened at $98.44 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.25. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $90.12 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business 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. 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 1.58%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on OTIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.