Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires Shares of 19,182 Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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 lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer downgraded Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.88.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $103.64. 2,830,969 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,305,914. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.33. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $105.19. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.72.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

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

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.91, for a total value of $123,586.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 144,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,576,224.64. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,669,414 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.