Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 729,946 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,649 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.18% of Otis Worldwide worth $67,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 49,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,568,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 8,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 150,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,086,000 after buying an additional 2,807 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Otis Worldwide stock opened at $96.77 on Monday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.16.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. 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 of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,127.67. This represents a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.