Convergence Investment Partners LLC Makes New $968,000 Investment in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JCI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.11.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director owned 904,305 shares in the company, valued at $82,924,768.50. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owned 147,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE JCI traded up $1.83 on Friday, hitting $111.85. 4,130,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,956,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $112.00.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 shares are undervalued.

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.