Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys New Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 49,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,928,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $568,309,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth about $560,549,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company's stock worth $1,452,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,573 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,870,478 shares of the company's stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,431 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company's stock worth $1,842,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.35.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $96.32. The company had a trading volume of 4,819,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,394,985. The company has a market capitalization of $63.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $97.11. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $81.19 and a 200-day moving average of $81.87.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $9,170,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 904,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total value of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 623,290 shares of company stock worth $53,188,746 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.