StockNews.com Upgrades Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on JCI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Johnson Controls International in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.43.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI stock opened at $77.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $78.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total value of $8,038,392.05. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total value of $231,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 140,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,828,815.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total transaction of $8,038,392.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 227,494 shares of company stock valued at $16,999,239 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JCI. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth about $120,948,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 470.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 157,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,319,000 after purchasing an additional 130,308 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 398,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,009,000 after purchasing an additional 13,373 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 0.9% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,129,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,774,000 after buying an additional 10,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth approximately $864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.