Johnson Controls International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JCI)

Key Points

• Investors have shown significant interest in Johnson Controls International, buying 19,207 call options, which is an increase of approximately 1,963% from the typical volume.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.05, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.99, and recorded revenues of $6.05 billion for the period.
• Johnson Controls has initiated a stock repurchase plan worth $9.00 billion, indicating the Board of Directors' belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 19,207 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at $14,607,950.89. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,266 shares of company stock valued at $1,986,931 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 23.4% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,412 shares of the company's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 15.1% in the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 28,270 shares of the company's stock worth $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 9.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 198,865 shares of the company's stock worth $21,004,000 after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 5.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 125,141 shares of the company's stock worth $13,217,000 after acquiring an additional 6,788 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.17.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.40. 6,227,770 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,666,734. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $105.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.68. 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 has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $112.63.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.99 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

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

Johnson Controls International Company 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.