Vident Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,379,562,000 after purchasing an additional 179,743 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,452,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,573 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,597,000 after acquiring an additional 447,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,670,000 after acquiring an additional 343,517 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 904,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.91, for a total value of $123,586.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 144,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,576,224.64. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 460,396 shares of company stock worth $38,645,569 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.1%

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $98.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $98.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.02. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Johnson Controls International’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JCI. Melius downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.12.

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.