Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 952,958 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International plc by 93.3%, ending the quarter with 68,710 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• The company announced a $9 billion stock buyback program, allowing repurchase of up to 13.4% of outstanding shares, indicating management's belief in the undervaluation of their stock.
• Johnson Controls International recently posted a quarterly earnings report exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $6.05 billion and an EPS of $1.05.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,710 shares of the company's stock after selling 952,958 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $5,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $147,447.18. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.72.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE:JCI traded down $1.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.88. 4,216,482 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,098,977. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1 year low of $67.68 and a 1 year high of $112.63. The company has a market cap of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.22.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%.The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

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.