Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Plans $0.37 Quarterly Dividend

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%.

Johnson Controls International has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.8% annually over the last three years. Johnson Controls International has a dividend payout ratio of 35.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Johnson Controls International to earn $4.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock traded up $1.58 on Wednesday, hitting $78.57. 1,020,583 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,629,539. Johnson Controls International has a 1-year low of $59.83 and a 1-year high of $91.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total value of $108,621.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at $11,339,568.24. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total value of $14,543,176.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,203,893 shares in the company, valued at $107,483,567.04. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 706,050 shares of company stock worth $61,972,667 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Johnson Controls International stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JCI shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.27.

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.