MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 5,352 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.0%, selling 5,352 shares, resulting in total holdings worth approximately $13.7 million.
• Johnson Controls announced a $9 billion share buyback program, intending to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares, indicating potential undervaluation of the stock.
• The company's stock has a current market cap of $69.67 billion and is currently rated with an average "Hold" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $105.72.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,352 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $13,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in 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 valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 35,655 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 23,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 478.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 4,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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 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 quarter, insiders have sold 19,266 shares of company stock valued at $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on JCI. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.72.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $106.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.90 and a 200-day moving average of $93.75. The firm has a market cap of $69.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.30. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1-year low of $67.68 and a 1-year high of $112.63.

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

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

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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