Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on JCI. Royal Bank of Canada raised Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Mizuho raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.43.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI opened at $81.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.72. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $81.98.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 25th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total value of $8,494,125.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,507,639.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $231,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,828,815.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total transaction of $8,494,125.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,507,639.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 226,141 shares of company stock worth $16,904,519. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter worth $120,948,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 470.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 157,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,319,000 after purchasing an additional 130,308 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,129,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,774,000 after acquiring an additional 10,146 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 89,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 12,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.