Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,155,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,694 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $107,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Otis Worldwide by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $103.22 on Tuesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a twelve month low of $90.12 and a twelve month high of $106.83. The company has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.79.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

Insider Transactions at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total value of $163,047.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,390,748.57. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total value of $701,298.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,731,934.30. This represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on OTIS shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

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.