Johnson Controls International plc $JCI Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc by 35.3% during the second quarter, owning a total of 55,784 shares valued at approximately $5.89 million.
• Johnson Controls has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, an increase from the previous $0.37, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company has a significant share buyback authorization of $9.00 billion, indicating that management believes its stock is undervalued.

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 35.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,784 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,555 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $5,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JCI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at about $308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $149,395.32. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 139,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,651,562.54. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 5,917 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 25,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 8,761 shares of company stock worth $922,447. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $108.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.33. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $68.03 and a 52-week high of $112.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company's 50 day moving average is $106.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.52.

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. On average, research 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 approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Johnson Controls International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is currently 47.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.00.

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.

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