Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,167,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,800 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.54% of Otis Worldwide worth $200,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 3,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Otis Worldwide by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 41,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,879,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total value of $2,723,698.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,041,752.81. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. This represents a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $96.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12 month low of $89.37 and a 12 month high of $106.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.08.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

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

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is 38.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.