Baldwin Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Baldwin Investment Management LLC has purchased a new stake of $278,000 in Johnson Controls International plc, acquiring 3,469 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 90.05% of the company's stock, with several other firms, like Mackenzie Financial Corp and Prosperity Consulting Group LLC, also increasing their positions.
• Johnson Controls International recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, yielding 1.33%, and reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.82 per share for the last quarter.

Baldwin Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JCI. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson Controls International news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 147,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 904,305 shares in the company, valued at $82,924,768.50. The trade was a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,133 shares of company stock valued at $13,581,520. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JCI shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 target price (up from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:JCI traded up $1.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,127,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,707,660. The company has a market capitalization of $69.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.66. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week 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.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is 39.47%.

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.