IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,676 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Otis Worldwide by 485.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.9 %

OTIS stock opened at $100.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.24 and a 200-day moving average of $97.59. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12 month low of $90.12 and a 12 month high of $106.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,041,752.81. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.