BSW Wealth Partners Buys 2,498 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 90.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,249 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners' holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company's stock worth $5,379,562,000 after acquiring an additional 179,743 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,842,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company's stock worth $1,452,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,573 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company's stock worth $1,242,597,000 after purchasing an additional 447,513 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,670,000 after buying an additional 343,517 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.06. 2,864,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,313,692. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $106.07. 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 company has a market cap of $69.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.58.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Johnson Controls International's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total transaction of $149,054.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 141,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,869,765.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock valued at $13,705,106 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on JCI shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.88.

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.