Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Sets New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $92.41 and last traded at $92.22, with a volume of 2747715 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $89.75.

The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total value of $14,543,176.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,483,567.04. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 728,458 shares of company stock valued at $62,293,059. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,444,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,483,104,000 after acquiring an additional 288,576 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 6.0% during 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,452,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,573 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.9% during 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,670,000 after acquiring an additional 343,517 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.8 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.57.

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.