Cypress Capital Group Cuts Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Cypress Capital Group decreased its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,515 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $561,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 7.8% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 4.9% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $450,807.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,358.07. This represents a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction 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 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. In 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.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:OTIS opened at $101.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.05. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1-year low of $90.12 and a 1-year high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OTIS. Wolfe Research lowered 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

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.