Ninety One North America Inc. Sells 985 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 985 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 485.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otis Worldwide Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE OTIS opened at $94.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.09. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1-year low of $89.37 and a 1-year high of $106.33. The firm has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. Analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,391.84. This represents a 47.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OTIS. Wolfe Research downgraded 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

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.