Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,297 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on JCI shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Vertical Research raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays upped 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Melius lowered Johnson Controls International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total transaction of $113,361.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,599,419.44. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 129,263 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.55, for a total transaction of $10,799,923.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,585,260.15. This trade represents a 9.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock valued at $38,645,569 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.1%

JCI traded down $0.14 on Monday, hitting $97.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,201,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,365,465. Johnson Controls International plc has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $98.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International's payout ratio is currently 39.47%.

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.