Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Rises By 6.5%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,650,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 9,060,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on JCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.53.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 10,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total value of $866,978.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,166,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,190,706.88. The trade was a 0.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 647,973 shares of company stock worth $53,986,862. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 977.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 1.1 %

JCI stock traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.34. 3,591,080 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,429,269. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.76. The stock has a market cap of $53.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $52.02 and a fifty-two week high of $87.16.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 58.27%.

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.