HB Wealth Management LLC Acquires 7,023 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 25.9%, adding 7,023 shares and bringing its total holdings to 34,129 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Johnson Controls International, with Goldman Sachs and UBS both setting new targets at $116.00, reflecting positive sentiment towards the company's stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.48 and a dividend yield of 1.32% as of the latest financial reporting.

HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,129 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,023 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $2,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company's stock worth $1,842,571,000 after buying an additional 1,325,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company's stock worth $1,452,912,000 after buying an additional 2,150,573 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,818,777 shares of the company's stock worth $1,087,670,000 after buying an additional 343,517 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,128,506 shares of the company's stock worth $562,653,000 after buying an additional 305,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,690,781 shares of the company's stock worth $528,103,000 after buying an additional 1,026,623 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 147,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,426,429.16. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This trade represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,133 shares of company stock worth $13,581,520 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 1.2%

JCI traded up $1.26 on Thursday, hitting $105.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,720,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,692,616. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $112.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on JCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.17.

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.