Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,457 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,157 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $17,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on OTIS shares. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total transaction of $2,723,698.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,041,752.81. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,390,748.57. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $98.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.36. Otis Worldwide Co. has a twelve month low of $90.12 and a twelve month high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. On average, analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.