Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,591 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 8,161,946 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,031,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,146,045,000 after purchasing an additional 152,072 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,871 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 6.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,680,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,546,000 after purchasing an additional 391,206 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total transaction of $163,047.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,390,748.57. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $3,588,712.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OTIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Stock Up 0.6 %

OTIS opened at $98.24 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.62 and a 200-day moving average of $97.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12-month low of $90.12 and a 12-month high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. On average, 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 repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 38.42%.

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.