Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $78.74 on Thursday. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $59.83 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,339,568.24. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total transaction of $18,060,939.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,964,191.81. This trade represents a 14.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 706,050 shares of company stock valued at $61,972,667 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.27.

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.