Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eighteen analysts, with an average target price of $105.17 for the stock.
• Recent insider sales included VP Anuruddha Rathninde selling 15,000 shares for approximately $1.55 million, decreasing their ownership by 26.05%.
• The company announced a $9.00 billion share repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.1667.

JCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. This trade represents a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $147,447.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 140,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,607,950.89. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,266 shares of company stock worth $1,986,931. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JCI. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 88,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 35,655 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 154,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,186,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:JCI opened at $105.93 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $105.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.18. The stock has a market cap of $69.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.30. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $67.68 and a fifty-two week high of $112.63. 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 (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 14.71%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.99 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

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

Johnson Controls International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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