Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Johnson Controls International traded as high as $97.11 and last traded at $96.10, with a volume of 4950700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.28.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on JCI. UBS Group raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius downgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In related news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total value of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 147,673 shares in the company, valued at $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George Oliver sold 15,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $1,214,190.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,003,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,791,668.57. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock valued at $38,645,569. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 101.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 26,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 13,360 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $243,000. BNC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,093,000. Seros Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,000. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 46,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 4,301 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.10.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th were given a $0.37 dividend. 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 presently 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.