JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 63,762 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,834,721 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63,762 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.43% of Johnson Controls International worth $223,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI opened at $80.17 on Tuesday. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $59.83 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total value of $18,060,939.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,964,191.81. This represents a 14.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 905,864 shares of company stock worth $77,824,710. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on JCI shares. Melius lowered Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.27.

Johnson Controls International 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.