Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 959,206 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,512 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Johnson Controls International worth $76,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 67.4% during the 4th 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 34,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,750,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JCI has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Vertical Research raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities research 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.88.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

NYSE:JCI opened at $106.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.09. The stock has a market cap of $70.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $106.96.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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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