Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,325,500 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,344,374 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,842,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the third quarter worth $328,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 14.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 28,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 411,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,920,000 after acquiring an additional 12,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 49,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,000 after acquiring an additional 7,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on JCI shares. 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.27.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $79.64 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.64. The company has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $59.83 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $171,073.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,175,967.19. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 15,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $1,214,190.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,003,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,791,668.57. The trade was a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 905,864 shares of company stock valued at $77,824,710 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International 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.