Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $98.33 and last traded at $97.79, with a volume of 3201333 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on JCI shares. Vertical Research raised Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Melius downgraded Johnson Controls International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.35.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap 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 50-day moving average of $82.69 and a 200 day moving average of $82.48.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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%. Johnson Controls International's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock worth $38,645,569 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 425.0% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the first quarter worth $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 74.5% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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