Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.5%, acquiring an additional 178,169 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $591 million.
• Johnson Controls International recently announced a $9 billion stock repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 13.4% of its stock, signaling confidence in the company's valuation.
• The company reported earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations with $1.05 EPS and a revenue of $6.05 billion, indicating strong financial performance in the last quarter.

Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,378,331 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 178,169 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.12% of Johnson Controls International worth $591,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 67.4% in 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 last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 154,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,186,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI traded down $1.2430 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.4670. The stock had a trading volume of 5,170,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,880,837. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.97. The firm has a market cap of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $67.68 and a one year high of $112.63. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.99 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 9.53%. 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, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 42,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,266 shares of company stock valued at $1,986,931 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Johnson Controls International to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price target (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.17.

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.