Traders Purchase High Volume of Johnson Controls International Call Options (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JCI. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com lowered Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.93.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:JCI opened at $80.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.14 and a 200 day moving average of $74.38. Johnson Controls International has a 52 week low of $51.71 and a 52 week high of $87.16.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 140,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,828,815.04. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total value of $8,494,125.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,507,639.29. This trade represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 761,774 shares of company stock valued at $62,726,419 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 81,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,882 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 230,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,342,000 after purchasing an additional 15,879 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.