Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,189 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,107 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $740,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 773,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,032,000 after acquiring an additional 69,708 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 20,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,636,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, Director George Oliver sold 15,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $1,214,190.81. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,003,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,791,668.57. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of Johnson Controls International 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 sale, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 906,050 shares of company stock worth $77,839,329 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI stock opened at $81.46 on Tuesday. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1 year low of $59.83 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $82.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.87.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius downgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.