Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc by 130.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 16,026 shares, bringing their total to 28,319 shares valued at approximately $2.27 million.
• Insider selling was reported, with VP Anuruddha Rathninde selling 15,000 shares for a total of $1.55 million, reducing their ownership by 26.05%.
• Johnson Controls International announced a share buyback plan of up to $9.00 billion, allowing the repurchase of 13.4% of its stock, indicating that the company's leadership believes the stock is undervalued.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 130.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,319 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,026 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $2,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,976 shares of the company's stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 12,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total value of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 147,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,133 shares of company stock worth $13,581,520 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Vertical Research raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.48. 5,337,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,723,141. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $112.63. The firm has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.92.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.99 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.