Liberty Wealth Management LLC Takes $2.82 Million Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC has invested approximately $2.82 million in Johnson Controls International plc, buying 35,213 shares in the first quarter, signaling institutional confidence in the company's performance.
• Insider trading revealed that CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares, reducing his holdings by 16.08%, while company insiders collectively sold 146,133 shares worth approximately $13.58 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts have generally upgraded their outlook on Johnson Controls, with target prices rising, including UBS Group's increase to $116.00, indicating growing positive sentiment towards the company.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,821,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 88,569 shares of the company's stock worth $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 35,655 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,446 shares of the company's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 31,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 12,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer downgraded Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 904,305 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,266 shares of company stock valued at $11,156,931. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.4%

JCI stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $104.30. 2,815,167 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,674,345. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.13 and its 200-day moving average is $91.36. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $66.16 and a 52-week high of $112.63. The company has a market cap of $68.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

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

Johnson Controls International announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.