Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $88.90 and last traded at $86.88, with a volume of 910038 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.29.

The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 6.49%.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total value of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,616 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $9,358,113.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,244,617 shares in the company, valued at $105,294,598.20. This trade represents a 8.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 649,208 shares of company stock worth $54,081,073. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,178,595,000 after acquiring an additional 300,712 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,597,000 after purchasing an additional 447,513 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,041,822,000 after purchasing an additional 71,493 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 514.9% in 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 worth $418,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake 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 worth $367,495,000 after buying an additional 249,405 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 11.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $56.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.72 and its 200 day moving average is $76.69.

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.