Windward Capital Management Co. CA Lowers Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA trimmed its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 78,442 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 58.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after buying an additional 2,706,871 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,662,000 after buying an additional 2,201,988 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 699.5% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,705,000 after buying an additional 904,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Otis Worldwide by 274.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 714,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,250,000 after acquiring an additional 523,518 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on OTIS shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded 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 cut their price target on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In related news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,391.84. The trade was a 47.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares in the company, valued at $16,127.67. This represents a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Otis Worldwide stock opened at $94.50 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1 year low of $89.37 and a 1 year high of $106.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.07. The firm has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. On average, equities analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

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

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.