SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 5,067 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 29.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,483 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,067 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter worth $4,183,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at $1,350,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.88.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,865,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,303,711. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.16. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $105.19. The firm has a market cap of $68.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their position. 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 Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total transaction of $113,361.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,599,419.44. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock valued at $13,669,414. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.