Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International by 8.6%, now holding approximately 16.8 million shares, valued at around $1.35 billion according to the latest SEC filing.
• In addition to Invesco, several other institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by a remarkable 10,137.2%.
• Johnson Controls recently announced a $9.00 billion stock buyback program, signaling that its board believes the shares are undervalued, along with declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,821,426 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,586,171 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 2.56% of Johnson Controls International worth $1,347,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,444,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,483,104,000 after purchasing an additional 288,576 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $528,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,623 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,168,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,887,000 after acquiring an additional 777,031 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,988,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,705,000 after acquiring an additional 59,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,741,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,593,000 after acquiring an additional 317,266 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $147,447.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 140,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total value of $1,546,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,266 shares of company stock valued at $1,986,931. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,305,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,710,962. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $67.68 and a 12-month high of $112.63. The company's fifty day moving average is $105.47 and its 200-day moving average is $92.08. The company has a market capitalization of $69.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

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

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on JCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.17.

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.