Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.29.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Johnson Controls International in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

NYSE:JCI opened at $77.21 on Monday. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $77.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $70.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.35.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 59.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total transaction of $8,038,392.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,383,385.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.71, for a total value of $82,518.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,344,364.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total value of $8,038,392.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,383,385.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,879 shares of company stock valued at $8,270,529 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,387,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,114,756,000 after buying an additional 10,522,009 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 85.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,142,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,804,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520,580 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,514,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,962,000 after acquiring an additional 604,142 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,760,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,491,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 8.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,855,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,214,000 after purchasing an additional 479,548 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.