Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires 5,316 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 6.1%, holding 93,142 shares worth approximately $9.8 million.
• Johnson Controls reported $1.05 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.06, and set a target EPS guidance for FY 2025 between 3.650-3.680.
• The company announced a $9 billion stock buyback program, indicating that its board believes shares may be undervalued, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,142 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares during the quarter. Johnson Controls International makes up 1.4% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $9,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,444,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,483,104,000 after buying an additional 288,576 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 7,378,331 shares of the company's stock worth $591,078,000 after acquiring an additional 178,169 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,354,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,024,000 after purchasing an additional 185,476 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,168,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,887,000 after acquiring an additional 777,031 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,731,377 shares of the company's stock worth $366,412,000 after buying an additional 860,899 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.72.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI stock traded up $0.26 on Monday, reaching $107.79. 4,277,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,137,854. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1 year low of $68.03 and a 1 year high of $112.63. The company has a market cap of $70.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.82.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 14.71%. Johnson Controls International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.650-3.680 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.140-1.170 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This is a positive change from Johnson Controls International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

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

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.