ING Groep NV Purchases 15,450 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

ING Groep NV increased its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 43.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,020 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,450 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $4,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 58.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,349,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $774,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,706,871 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 3,673.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,261,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201,988 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 904,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Otis Worldwide by 274.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 714,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,250,000 after purchasing an additional 523,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set 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 issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total value of $2,723,698.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,041,752.81. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 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 value of $450,807.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,358.07. This trade represents a 16.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock worth $10,046,255 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of OTIS opened at $98.44 on Friday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12 month low of $90.12 and a 12 month high of $106.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.25. The firm has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board 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.