Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 94,800 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,167,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,800 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $200,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 485.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

OTIS opened at $96.78 on Thursday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 1 year low of $89.37 and a 1 year high of $106.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.08. The company has a market capitalization of $38.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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, equities analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,358.07. This represents a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,127.67. The trade was a 99.49 % decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide 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.