Norges Bank Takes $649.88 Million Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,017,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,883,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.77% of Otis Worldwide at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 485.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Otis Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Otis Worldwide stock opened at $103.06 on Friday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.83. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.54 and a 200 day moving average of $98.56.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 1.51%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.42%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total value of $701,298.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,731,934.30. This trade represents a 9.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total value of $3,119,988.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,127.67. This represents a 99.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,281 shares of company stock worth $10,747,553. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.