Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Declines By 7.0%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,110,000 shares, a drop of 7.0% from the May 31st total of 15,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JCI. UBS Group cut shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $611,901.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares in the company, valued at $1,662,259. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Juergen Tinggren sold 4,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.31, for a total transaction of $249,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,876,777.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 9,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total transaction of $611,901.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,662,259. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,067 shares of company stock worth $1,162,299 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 114.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of JCI opened at $66.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. Johnson Controls International has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $74.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.45.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.32% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.92%.

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.