Howland Capital Management LLC Acquires 383 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,852 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 1.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Otis Worldwide by 254.8% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Otis Worldwide by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 190,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,782,000 after purchasing an additional 12,430 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 1,094.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in shares of Otis Worldwide by 21.6% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

OTIS opened at $94.83 on Monday. Otis Worldwide Co. has a fifty-two week low of $89.37 and a fifty-two week high of $106.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.14 and a 200 day moving average of $97.04. The firm has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 1.06.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.42%.

Otis Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.88.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

In related news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total transaction of $3,588,712.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 245,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,213,814.03. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 4,775 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.41, for a total value of $450,807.75. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 75,481 shares of company stock worth $7,159,509. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.