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

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.07.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI opened at $76.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.22. Johnson Controls International has a 12-month low of $59.83 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.78.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total value of $18,060,939.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,527 shares in the company, valued at $110,964,191.81. This represents a 14.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $171,073.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,967.19. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 907,286 shares of company stock valued at $77,938,071 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,379,562,000 after buying an additional 179,743 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,452,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,573 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,597,000 after buying an additional 447,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,670,000 after buying an additional 343,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.