Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson Controls International traded as high as $97.11 and last traded at $96.10, with a volume of 4950700 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.28.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on JCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total transaction of $113,361.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,599,419.44. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 904,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 460,396 shares of company stock worth $38,645,569. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 425.0% during the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. Johnson Controls International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

Johnson Controls International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific, and Global Products.