Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 2,939 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,333 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $15,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,379,562,000 after purchasing an additional 179,743 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,842,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 2,150,573 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company's stock worth $1,087,670,000 after buying an additional 343,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,128,506 shares of the company's stock worth $562,653,000 after purchasing an additional 305,185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JCI. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $106.24. 3,223,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,343,669. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $107.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is 39.47%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,426,429.16. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently 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.