Insider Selling: Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Sells $163,047.00 in Stock

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total value of $163,047.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $96.78 on Thursday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a one year low of $89.37 and a one year high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $38.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.08.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is 38.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otis Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 183,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,123,000 after buying an additional 18,536 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after buying an additional 8,161,946 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 297.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 9,979 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,378,000 after purchasing an additional 229,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group started 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 on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Company 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.