Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $106.83 and last traded at $106.16, with a volume of 799810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OTIS. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.99. The firm has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 1.05.

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Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.55%. Otis Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total transaction of $701,298.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,931 shares in the company, valued at $6,731,934.30. This trade represents a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Otis Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 88.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.