Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International plc by 5.8% during the second quarter, owning 65,786 shares valued at approximately $6.95 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly boosted their holdings in Johnson Controls, with Allspring Global Investments increasing its position by 2,213.5%, now owning over 709,000 shares.
• Johnson Controls International announced a dividend increase to $0.40 per share and authorized a $9 billion share repurchase, indicating a strong belief in their stock's value.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,786 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,629 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $6,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 88,569 shares of the company's stock worth $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 35,655 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,753 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,795,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 322,297 shares of the company's stock worth $25,439,000 after acquiring an additional 36,440 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $149,395.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 139,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,651,562.54. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 5,917 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 25,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,778.65. This represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,183 shares of company stock worth $1,071,501 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:JCI traded up $0.56 on Monday, reaching $109.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,214,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,031,907. The business's 50-day moving average price is $106.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.76. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $68.03 and a 1-year high of $112.63. The firm has a market cap of $71.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.99 billion. 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 anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Johnson Controls International Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.58.

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.