JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Price Target to $88.00

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $105.00 to $88.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

OTIS has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.88.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of OTIS opened at $94.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.79. The stock has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 1.00. Otis Worldwide has a one year low of $89.70 and a one year high of $106.83.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Otis Worldwide will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,353,358.07. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $3,588,712.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Otis Worldwide

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $130,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Otis Worldwide by 3.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 87,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,132,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 40.4% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 28,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 8,093 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 69,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.