Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 379 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 379 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $2,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 11.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 183,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,123,000 after purchasing an additional 18,536 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 11.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after purchasing an additional 8,161,946 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,002,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,054,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 297.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 9,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Otis Worldwide

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total transaction of $2,723,698.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,041,752.81. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

OTIS stock opened at $98.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.65 and a 200-day moving average of $97.28. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OTIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

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.