HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 834,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,719 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Otis Worldwide worth $77,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 485.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $99.97 on Thursday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12 month low of $90.12 and a 12 month high of $106.83. The company has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.98.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $3,588,712.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction of $3,119,988.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares in the company, valued at $16,127.67. This trade represents a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OTIS shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of 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 downgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

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.