Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Shares Acquired by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,729 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,387,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,114,756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,522,009 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,419,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,411,000 after acquiring an additional 305,798 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in 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 Johnson Controls International by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,528,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,768,000 after acquiring an additional 618,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,760,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,491,000 after acquiring an additional 6,247,250 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $68.00 in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.31.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.81. 4,208,448 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,309,345. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $75.36. The company has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.71, for a total value of $82,518.57. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,344,364.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,892 shares of company stock valued at $197,011 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% 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.