California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 55,694 Shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,155,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,694 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.29% of Otis Worldwide worth $107,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 88.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Otis Worldwide news, EVP Peiming Zheng sold 32,694 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,127.67. The trade was a 99.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 38,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 $23,213,814.03. The trade was a 13.39 % 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 company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE OTIS opened at $103.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.05. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52-week low of $90.12 and a 52-week high of $106.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.79.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. On average, analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

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.