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

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 19,207 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 141,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,869,765.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 904,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,555 shares of company stock valued at $13,705,106 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of JCI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at $222,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 88,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 35,655 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price target (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given 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 an average target price of $100.53.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI traded down $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $106.33. The company had a trading volume of 4,247,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,041. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $107.18. The company's fifty day moving average is $100.20 and its 200 day moving average is $87.58. The stock has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. 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 plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.