Otis Worldwide Corporation $OTIS Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Key Points

• Franklin Resources boosted its stake in Otis by 4.5% in Q3, buying 322,255 shares to own 7,419,634 shares (about a 1.90% stake) valued at roughly $678.4 million.
• Otis reported quarterly EPS of $1.03 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.80 billion (slightly below $3.88 billion expected), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 ($1.68 annual, ~2.0% yield; ex-dividend Feb 13, payable Mar 13).
• Insiders have sold heavily (158,013 shares worth ~$14.34 million over the last 90 days) while institutional ownership remains high (~88%), and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $101.44 target price.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:OTIS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,419,634 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 322,255 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.90% of Otis Worldwide worth $678,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in OTIS. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Otis Worldwide by 49.1% in the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 343 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Otis Worldwide by 1.8% during the third quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 6,615 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 5.5% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,245 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Otis Worldwide by 4.9% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Otis Worldwide by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 88.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Otis Worldwide Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:OTIS opened at $84.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.00. Otis Worldwide Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.42 and a 12-month high of $105.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.34.

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

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Otis Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on OTIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Otis Worldwide from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $98.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. New Street Research set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide in a report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Otis Worldwide from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Otis Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.44.

Insider Activity at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, CAO Michael Patrick Ryan sold 1,182 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $106,450.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,504 shares in the company, valued at $315,570.24. This represents a 25.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Montlivault Stephane De sold 47,944 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.25, for a total value of $4,422,834.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,013 shares of company stock worth $14,337,635. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Otis Worldwide Company Profile

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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