Citigroup Reaffirms "Neutral" Rating for Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Citigroup in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $110.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $94.00. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 1.01% from the stock's current price.

JCI has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer lowered Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.18.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI traded up $1.62 on Monday, reaching $108.90. 3,512,012 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,344,932. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $111.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.47. The stock has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 904,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total value of $149,054.04. Following the sale, the vice president owned 141,860 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 69.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 113,059 shares of the company's stock worth $9,057,000 after purchasing an additional 46,459 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 81.4% during the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 30,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,431,000 after buying an additional 13,612 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 27.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2,213.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 709,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,748,000 after buying an additional 678,766 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 22.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

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.