Johnson Controls International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 19,207 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JCI shares. Melius cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.13.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $59.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $56.28 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,339,568.24. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total transaction of $14,543,176.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,483,567.04. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 889,434 shares of company stock worth $77,215,058. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 28,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.