Intact Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Intact Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 98.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,700 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 88,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 35,655 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 60,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,746,000 after acquiring an additional 13,024 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,066,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 860,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,923,000 after acquiring an additional 119,714 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI stock opened at $102.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.58. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $105.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly 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 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total transaction of $113,361.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,599,419.44. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,426,429.16. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,669,414. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Johnson Controls International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.88.

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.