Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $106.83 and last traded at $106.16, with a volume of 799810 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,213,814.03. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,127.67. The trade was a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Otis Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $29,451,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Otis Worldwide by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Otis Worldwide by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 219,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,325,000 after acquiring an additional 79,200 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

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.