Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Johnson Controls International stake by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 666,818 shares and leaving it with 5.28 million shares worth about $632 million.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted positions in JCI, while institutional investors still own a dominant 90.05% of the stock.
• Analysts remain mixed but broadly cautious: the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $147.63, even as several firms recently raised their price targets.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,278,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 666,818 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.86% of Johnson Controls International worth $632,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JCI. Maseco LLP raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 211 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 239 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 319 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 123.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 335 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Lei Zhang Schlitz sold 88,809 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.99, for a total transaction of $12,521,180.91. Following the sale, the vice president owned 57,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,044,748.41. The trade was a 60.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JCI. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $147.63.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $138.51 on Tuesday. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $96.31 and a 12-month high of $147.32. The company has a market capitalization of $84.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $137.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.55.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The firm had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is 28.62%.

About Johnson Controls International

Johnson Controls International plc is a global diversified technology and multi‑industrial company that develops products, services and solutions for buildings and energy storage. The company's core focus is on improving building efficiency, safety and sustainability through a combination of HVAC equipment, building controls and automation, fire and security systems, and related services. Johnson Controls traces its roots to 1885, when inventor Warren S. Johnson developed an electric room thermostat; over its long history the company has expanded from controls into a broad set of building‑related technologies and, through corporate transactions, into a global provider of integrated building solutions.

Johnson Controls' product and service portfolio includes heating, ventilation and air‑conditioning equipment, chillers, air handlers and related mechanical systems, together with building automation and control platforms that monitor and manage energy use, indoor environmental quality and security.

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