Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 2,157 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 187,457 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,157 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $17,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in OTIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 11,799.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 207,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,533,000 after purchasing an additional 205,427 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 35.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after purchasing an additional 11,811 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 3.6% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total transaction of $2,723,698.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,041,752.81. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total transaction of $163,047.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,390,748.57. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of OTIS opened at $98.67 on Tuesday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a one year low of $90.12 and a one year high of $106.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30 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 negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. Analysts expect that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on OTIS shares. 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 initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.88.

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.