State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $10,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 485.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Otis Worldwide Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:OTIS opened at $101.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.50 and a 200 day moving average of $97.67. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52 week low of $90.12 and a 52 week high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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, analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.42%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total transaction of $163,047.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,390,748.57. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,213,814.03. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255. 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.