Bank of Nova Scotia Has $5.27 Million Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,497 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $5,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 485.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OTIS opened at $96.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 1.00. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.70 and a fifty-two week high of $106.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.78.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. This trade represents a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553 over the last quarter. 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.