Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Johnson Controls International Call Options (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 224,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total value of $18,541,853.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,166,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,533,578.24. The trade was a 16.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 647,787 shares of company stock worth $53,972,452 over the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,178,595,000 after buying an additional 300,712 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,295,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,187,084,000 after acquiring an additional 509,293 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,475,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,822,000 after acquiring an additional 71,493 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 514.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,391,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 5.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,735,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,495,000 after purchasing an additional 249,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.4 %

JCI opened at $82.13 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $52.02 and a fifty-two week high of $87.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Argus raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.53.

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.