First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 516,476 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,043 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.13% of Otis Worldwide worth $47,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Otis Worldwide by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,002,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,054,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company's stock worth $2,918,223,000 after purchasing an additional 8,161,946 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,304,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,418,000 after purchasing an additional 67,937 shares during the period. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $8,743,000. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.63.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. This trade represents a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Otis Worldwide stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.96. 4,901,071 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,222,304. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.28. Otis Worldwide Co. has a twelve month low of $89.70 and a twelve month high of $106.83. The stock has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.01. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Otis Worldwide's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Otis Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.