Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $107.36 and last traded at $107.26, with a volume of 3841607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer downgraded Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.18.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $71.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $102.31 and its 200 day moving average is $88.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Johnson Controls International's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total transaction of $149,054.04. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 141,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,869,765.20. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the second quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,344,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,022,000 after buying an additional 712,222 shares during the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 367.0% during the 2nd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 13,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 10,758 shares during the period. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 2nd quarter worth about $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

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.