Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New Investment in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP invested approximately $1.18 million in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by acquiring 14,762 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider activity revealed that VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares for around $1.55 million, reducing their holdings by 26.05%.
• Several analysts updated their price targets for Johnson Controls, with Deutsche Bank upgrading the stock from a "hold" to a "buy" rating and raising the target price to $112.00.

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,183,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.93. 7,802,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,339,026. The stock has a market cap of $69.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.30. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $67.68 and a 52-week high of $112.63. The stock's 50-day moving average is $105.47 and its 200 day moving average is $92.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 14.71%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Johnson Controls International declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on JCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.17.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $147,447.18. Following the sale, the vice president owned 140,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.