Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 324,489 Shares of Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its holdings in Otis Worldwide Corporation by 29.4%, now owning 780,280 shares valued at approximately $80.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts have varying price targets for Otis Worldwide, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.50.
• Otis Worldwide recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.87%.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 780,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 324,489 shares during the quarter. Otis Worldwide makes up 2.0% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.20% of Otis Worldwide worth $80,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OTIS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Otis Worldwide by 12,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 820,750 shares of the company's stock worth $84,701,000 after acquiring an additional 814,057 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $66,962,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,577,626 shares of the company's stock worth $423,934,000 after purchasing an additional 501,016 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in Otis Worldwide by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,503,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,148,000 after acquiring an additional 469,946 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Otis Worldwide by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,785,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,980,000 after acquiring an additional 435,372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company's stock.

Otis Worldwide Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:OTIS traded down $0.38 on Thursday, reaching $86.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,829,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,656,396. The company has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.98. Otis Worldwide Corporation has a 1-year low of $85.70 and a 1-year high of $106.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.16.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 10.68% and a negative return on equity of 30.95%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Otis Worldwide's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Otis Worldwide Corporation will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Otis Worldwide's payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OTIS has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Otis Worldwide from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded Otis Worldwide from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.50.

Otis Worldwide 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.