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

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

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock traded down $0.51 on Friday, hitting $105.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,234,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,348,170. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.98. 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 company has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.31. Johnson Controls International has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $107.20.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. 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 declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to repurchase $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 42,574 shares in the company, valued at $4,390,656.62. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,555 shares of company stock worth $13,705,106. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. G&S Capital LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 81.4% in the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 30,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,431,000 after buying an additional 13,612 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 27.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,720 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 2,213.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 709,431 shares of the company's stock worth $57,748,000 after buying an additional 678,766 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 22.4% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,987 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 9.0% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.53.

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.