Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,785,116 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 435,372 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.96% of Otis Worldwide worth $720,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in OTIS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,003,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,167,806,000 after purchasing an additional 149,123 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Otis Worldwide by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,523,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,289,868,000 after buying an additional 7,447,860 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,031,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,146,045,000 after acquiring an additional 152,072 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $649,883,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,378,000 after acquiring an additional 229,523 shares during the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

In other news, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $450,807.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,358.07. This represents a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total transaction of $701,298.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,731,934.30. The trade was a 9.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,281 shares of company stock valued at $10,747,553 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 1.1 %

OTIS opened at $103.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.79. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 12-month low of $90.12 and a 12-month high of $106.83.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 11.53%. On average, analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 38.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on OTIS. 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Otis Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Otis Worldwide Company 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.