Prospector Partners LLC Has $9 Million Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Prospector Partners LLC decreased its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,614 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $9,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of OTIS. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $3,621,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $8,743,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 73,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,769,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,345,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,607,000 after acquiring an additional 212,555 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

In related news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,358.07. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OTIS opened at $94.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 1.00. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $90.12 and a 52-week high of $106.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.96.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.