Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 26.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,473 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,180 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 69.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 113,059 shares of the company's stock worth $9,057,000 after buying an additional 46,459 shares in the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 81.4% in the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 30,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,431,000 after buying an additional 13,612 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,720 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2,213.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 709,431 shares of the company's stock worth $57,748,000 after buying an additional 678,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 22.4% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,987 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Vertical Research raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total value of $149,054.04. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 141,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,869,765.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 147,673 shares in the company, valued at $13,426,429.16. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $108.80. 942,996 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,599,466. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $109.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.68. The stock has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.