Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Short Interest Update

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,510,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the September 15th total of 9,870,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,383,385.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total value of $231,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,828,815.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,383,385.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 227,494 shares of company stock worth $16,997,782. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 85.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,142,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,804,000 after purchasing an additional 6,520,580 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 686.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,445,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880,146 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 1st quarter worth $120,948,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 413.5% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,935,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4,782.9% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,254,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,919 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.43.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 1.1 %

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $77.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Johnson Controls International has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $78.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.52.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.92%.

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.