Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Decreases Holdings in Otis Worldwide Corporation $OTIS

Key Points

• Ipswich Investment Management cut its Otis stake by 58.8% in Q4, selling 24,056 shares and leaving it with 16,835 shares valued at about $1.47 million.
• Company insiders have sold heavily recently — 158,013 shares worth roughly $14.34 million in the past three months (including 47,944 by Montlivault and 56,107 by CEO Judith Fran Marks) — reducing insider ownership to 0.23%.
• Otis reported Q4 EPS of $1.03 (in line) and revenue of $3.80B (slightly below estimates), pays a $1.68 annual dividend (yield ~2.2%), and carries a Wall Street consensus of Hold with a $98.78 average price target.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,835 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,056 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 15,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Otis Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 159.6% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC raised its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,145,040 shares of the company's stock worth $100,020,000 after purchasing an additional 344,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $659,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In other news, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 47,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.25, for a total value of $4,422,834.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,691,486. This represents a 62.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 56,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.89, for a total transaction of $5,099,565.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 231,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,002,134.08. This trade represents a 19.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,013 shares of company stock valued at $14,337,635. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.5%

OTIS stock opened at $77.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.53. Otis Worldwide Corporation has a twelve month low of $75.27 and a twelve month high of $105.95.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 9.59% and a negative return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Corporation will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Otis Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OTIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $92.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Otis Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Otis Worldwide from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $98.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.78.

About Otis Worldwide

Otis Worldwide Corporation is a manufacturer, installer and servicer of vertical transportation systems, including elevators, escalators and moving walkways. The company designs and supplies new equipment for commercial, residential and industrial buildings, and provides ongoing maintenance and repair services aimed at maximizing equipment availability and safety. Otis also offers modernization solutions to upgrade aging systems and improve performance, accessibility and energy efficiency.

In addition to new equipment sales, a significant portion of Otis's business derives from long-term service contracts and responsive maintenance work.

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