Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,132 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,297 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,673 shares in the company, valued at $13,426,429.16. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 904,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock valued at $38,645,569. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.35.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI opened at $96.65 on Friday. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $97.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

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

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.