KBC Group NV Lowers Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,467 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.08% of Otis Worldwide worth $28,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in OTIS. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 4.4% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.4% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Otis Worldwide

In other news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,391.84. This trade represents a 47.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.88.

Otis Worldwide Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:OTIS opened at $95.87 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12-month low of $87.57 and a 12-month high of $106.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.21. The company has a market capitalization of $38.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.48% and a negative return on equity of 31.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.90%.

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.