KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

KBC Group NV cut its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,467 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $28,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 11.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 183,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,123,000 after buying an additional 18,536 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the third 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Otis Worldwide by 297.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 9,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Otis Worldwide by 6.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 228,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,784,000 after purchasing an additional 13,602 shares during the period. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $95.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1-year low of $87.57 and a 1-year high of $106.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.21.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). Otis Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 11.48%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Otis Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,391.84. This represents a 47.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OTIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded 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 decreased their price target on Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.88.

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.