DAVENPORT & Co LLC Raises Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,173 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,662,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201,988 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 699.5% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,705,000 after acquiring an additional 904,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Otis Worldwide by 274.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OTIS has been the topic of several research reports. 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $3,588,712.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,481 shares of company stock worth $7,159,509 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $94.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.44 and a 200-day moving average of $97.05. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12 month low of $89.37 and a 12 month high of $106.33. The company has a market cap of $37.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.