Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.19 Million Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 130.4% during the 1st quarter, holding shares valued at $1.19 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Johnson Controls International's stock ratings, with price targets ranging from $112.00 to $130.00, indicating a positive sentiment among financial experts.
• The company announced a $9 billion share buyback program, allowing repurchases of up to 13.4% of its shares, reflecting management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 130.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,403 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 425.0% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 56.4% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 369 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JCI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer cut Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 target price (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 5,917 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total value of $625,604.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 25,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,778.65. This trade represents a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $149,395.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 139,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,651,562.54. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,071,501. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,826,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,314,553. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $68.03 and a one year high of $112.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $106.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.51.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%.The company had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.650-3.680 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.140-1.170 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Johnson Controls International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.