Johnson Controls International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, Director George Oliver sold 15,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $1,214,190.81. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,003,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,791,668.57. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.72, for a total value of $113,361.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 145,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,599,419.44. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 331,133 shares of company stock worth $27,845,646. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 425.0% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.12.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

JCI traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.17. 6,829,364 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,291,995. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $102.59. The business's 50 day moving average price is $85.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.48.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.46%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.47%.

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.