Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 51.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,286 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% in the third 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth about $649,883,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 58.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in Otis Worldwide by 699.5% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,033,423 shares of the company's stock worth $95,705,000 after acquiring an additional 904,157 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,048,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,904,000 after acquiring an additional 302,414 shares during the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total transaction of $701,298.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,731,934.30. This represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total value of $163,047.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,390,748.57. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.88.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Otis Worldwide stock traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.53. 1,964,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,192,813. The company's fifty day moving average is $99.30 and its 200-day moving average is $98.62. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52 week low of $89.70 and a 52 week high of $106.83. The firm has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 1.00.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Otis Worldwide's payout ratio is presently 38.42%.

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.