The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International by 5.0%, owning approximately 519,908 shares worth $41.65 million after selling 27,386 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Cerity Partners LLC and G&S Capital LLC, have increased their stakes significantly, with Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raising theirs by an astounding 2,213.5%.
• Johnson Controls International has initiated a stock buyback program of up to $9 billion to buy back approximately 13.4% of its stock, typically indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 519,908 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,386 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Johnson Controls International worth $41,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,444,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,483,104,000 after buying an additional 288,576 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 2.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 7,378,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,078,000 after buying an additional 178,169 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,168,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,887,000 after buying an additional 777,031 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 12.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,075,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,389,000 after buying an additional 349,209 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 13.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,741,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,593,000 after buying an additional 317,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 5,917 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total value of $625,604.41. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 25,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,778.65. This represents a 19.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,183 shares of company stock worth $2,618,451 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on JCI. Citigroup raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price target (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.72.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of JCI traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $107.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,572,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,743,563. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $106.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $67.68 and a 52-week high of $112.63.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for 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. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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.