New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,541 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,409 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $2,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 10,137.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,179,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,700 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,690,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,623 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,560,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,112,000 after buying an additional 1,012,067 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at $78,625,000. Finally, XN LP bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $74,326,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value of $147,447.18. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,266 shares of company stock valued at $11,156,931 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI opened at $104.67 on Thursday. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $65.69 and a one year high of $112.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $105.13 and a 200 day moving average of $91.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $68.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 14.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

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

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JCI. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Vertical Research raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.17.

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.