Mizuho Securities USA LLC Cuts Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 16.5%, owning 52,857 shares after selling 10,456 shares in the first quarter, with the total value of its holdings at approximately $4.23 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Deutsche Bank AG, have increased their stakes in Johnson Controls International, indicating strong institutional support for the company.
• Johnson Controls announced a $9 billion share buyback plan, signifying management's belief that its shares are undervalued, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,857 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,456 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $4,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,026,623 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 777,031 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 59,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 317,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total value of $147,447.18. Following the transaction, the vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on JCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.0%

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $105.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $112.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $105.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. 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 currently 43.92%.

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.

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