45,700 Shares in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Purchased by Freemont Management S.A.

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. acquired 45,700 shares of Johnson Controls International plc, increasing its investment portfolio in the company to 1.2% and making it their 29th largest position.
• Johnson Controls reported earnings of $0.82 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.05, and total revenue of $5.68 billion, slightly above projections.
• The company has initiated a $9 billion stock repurchase plan, allowing for the reacquisition of up to 13.4% of its shares, indicating a belief that its stock is currently undervalued.

Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new stake in 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 45,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,661,000. Johnson Controls International makes up approximately 1.2% of Freemont Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $560,549,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,452,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,573 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,842,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,500 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 10,137.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,179,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,690,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.11.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

JCI stock traded down $6.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.65. 4,902,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,636,873. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $104.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.30. The stock has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. 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 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 10.19%. Research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.47%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,924,768.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total value of $149,054.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock valued at $13,705,106. 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.