Essex Financial Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,470 shares of the company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Otis Worldwide by 58.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,863,000 after buying an additional 2,706,871 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,662,000 after buying an additional 2,201,988 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 699.5% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,705,000 after acquiring an additional 904,157 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 274.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 714,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,250,000 after acquiring an additional 523,518 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,127.67. This represents a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,358.07. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a one year low of $89.37 and a one year high of $106.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.09. The company has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

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.