Johnson Controls International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total value of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 129,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.55, for a total value of $10,799,923.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,203,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,585,260.15. This trade represents a 9.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock valued at $38,645,569 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 127,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,220,000 after purchasing an additional 9,465 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at about $905,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 174.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 227,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,240,000 after purchasing an additional 46,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE JCI opened at $96.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.10. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $97.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Vertical Research raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.35.

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.