Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) Announces $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th.

Otis Worldwide has increased its dividend payment by an average of 18.0% annually over the last three years. Otis Worldwide has a payout ratio of 34.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Otis Worldwide to earn $4.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.6 %

OTIS opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. Otis Worldwide has a 1-year low of $89.37 and a 1-year high of $106.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.09.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Otis Worldwide will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on OTIS shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Otis Worldwide

In other Otis Worldwide news, CEO Judith Fran Marks sold 28,440 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.77, for a total value of $2,723,698.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,041,752.81. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nora E. Lafreniere sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.91, for a total value of $163,047.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,390,748.57. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,255. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.