Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Johnson Controls International plc by 16.7% in the first quarter, now holding 51,958 shares valued at $4.16 million.
• Several institutions, including Accent Capital Management and Cornerstone Planning Group, have made changes to their investments in Johnson Controls, reflecting significant interest from hedge funds with 90.05% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts hold a mixed view on the stock, with nine analysts rated it as a "Buy" while ten rated it as a "Hold," indicating cautious optimism among investors.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,958 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,442 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $4,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.88. 4,216,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,042,924. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $67.68 and a fifty-two week high of $112.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total value of $1,546,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JCI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Oppenheimer lowered Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.72.

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.