Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) Stock Holdings Increased by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,104,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,671 shares during the period. Otis Worldwide makes up 2.0% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.28% of Otis Worldwide worth $102,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,161,946 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,031,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,045,000 after buying an additional 152,072 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after buying an additional 2,706,871 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,378,000 after buying an additional 229,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,680,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,546,000 after buying an additional 391,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE OTIS opened at $99.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.98. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $90.12 and a 52-week high of $106.83.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $3,588,712.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares in the company, valued at $23,213,814.03. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $16,127.67. This trade represents a 99.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

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.