Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,024 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $4,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. UBS Group raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Melius lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.13.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $85.23 on Monday. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $57.78 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. 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 50-day simple moving average is $82.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In related news, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total value of $14,543,176.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,483,567.04. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 708,700 shares of company stock valued at $62,083,088. Insiders own 0.54% 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.