Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 340,168 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by a remarkable 1,541.4% in the first quarter, now owning 362,237 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• Several institutional investors made significant moves, including Nuveen LLC acquiring a stake worth about $219 million and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their stake by 10,137.2%.
• Johnson Controls International's Board approved a $9 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the company's valuation, while the company also reported better-than-expected earnings for the last quarter.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 1,541.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 362,237 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 340,168 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Johnson Controls International worth $29,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at about $219,110,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 10,137.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,179,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,700 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,560,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,067 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,625,000. Finally, XN LP purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,326,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president 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 quarter, insiders sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 target price (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.72.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI stock opened at $106.88 on Friday. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $67.68 and a fifty-two week high of $112.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $106.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.25.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%.The business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.650-3.680 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.140-1.170 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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 given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Johnson Controls International Company 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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