Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,904 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Otis Worldwide were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 41.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,076,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,918,223,000 after buying an additional 8,161,946 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,883,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Otis Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,962,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $423,934,000 after buying an additional 501,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Otis Worldwide by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,785,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,980,000 after buying an additional 435,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.03% of the company's stock.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of OTIS stock traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $96.74. 2,286,762 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,333,170. The firm has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 1.01. Otis Worldwide Co. has a 52 week low of $89.70 and a 52 week high of $106.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.51.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.53% and a negative return on equity of 31.76%. The company's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Otis Worldwide Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Otis Worldwide Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Otis Worldwide's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Otis Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $88.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Otis Worldwide from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 6,660 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.30, for a total value of $701,298.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,731,934.30. The trade was a 9.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.