Nuveen LLC Acquires Shares of 2,735,112 Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International plc, purchasing 2,735,112 shares valued at approximately $219 million, representing 0.42% ownership.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ten rated as "hold" and nine as "buy," while the current consensus target price is $105.17.
• The company recently authorized a $9 billion stock repurchase program, suggesting the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,735,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,110,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.42% of Johnson Controls International as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position 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 valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 35,655 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 648 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 420,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,194,000 after buying an additional 9,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the vice president owned 42,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This trade represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $147,447.18. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.93. 7,802,158 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,339,026. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $105.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 14.71%. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

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