Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,947,756 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,950 shares during the quarter. Otis Worldwide makes up 3.4% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $180,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in OTIS. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,378,000 after buying an additional 229,523 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 87.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 5,483 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. increased its stake in Otis Worldwide by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 79,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,346,000 after acquiring an additional 33,750 shares during the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OTIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,391.84. This trade represents a 47.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

OTIS opened at $94.76 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide Co. has a one year low of $85.61 and a one year high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Otis Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 11.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.