Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Raised to Buy at Vertical Research

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Vertical Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.18% from the stock’s current price.

JCI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.94.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.8 %

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $91.96 on Thursday. Johnson Controls International has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $92.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.63 and a 200-day moving average of $81.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $18,274,313.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,275,139.89. This trade represents a 14.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.91, for a total transaction of $123,586.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 144,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,576,224.64. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 728,458 shares of company stock valued at $62,293,059 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JCI. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 11,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.4% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 2,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson Controls International

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.