Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 408,062 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,074 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of Johnson Controls International worth $32,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 3,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 10.6% in the first quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 97,955 shares of the company's stock worth $7,847,000 after acquiring an additional 9,386 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 1.5% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 26,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 55,015 shares of the company's stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on JCI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 target price (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total value of $113,361.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,599,419.44. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total value of $1,546,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 42,574 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,669,414 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded down $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.42. 2,865,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,305,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.33. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $105.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.87 and a 200-day moving average of $85.16.

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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International 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.