Parnassus Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 771,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,656 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $71,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OTIS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter worth $210,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 543.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Otis Worldwide stock opened at $99.44 on Friday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52 week low of $90.12 and a 52 week high of $106.83. The company has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.99.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on OTIS. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

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