Okabena Investment Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Okabena Investment Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,942 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OTIS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Otis Worldwide by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,003,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,167,806,000 after purchasing an additional 149,123 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,523,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,868,000 after acquiring an additional 7,447,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,031,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,045,000 after purchasing an additional 152,072 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $649,883,000. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OTIS opened at $102.08 on Friday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1 year low of $90.12 and a 1 year high of $106.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.63. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its 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 net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. On average, equities analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is 38.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on OTIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

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.