Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,401 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OTIS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total value of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,127.67. The trade was a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $3,588,712.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on OTIS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $97.56 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $90.12 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $38.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.64 and a 200-day moving average of $97.20.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

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.