Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 19,207 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JCI. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.21.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.1 %

JCI opened at $72.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.78 and its 200 day moving average is $67.60. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $75.36.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 59.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total transaction of $8,038,392.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,383,385.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total transaction of $8,038,392.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,383,385.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.71, for a total transaction of $82,518.57. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,344,364.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,860 shares of company stock worth $8,333,834 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 4.6% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 50,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 16,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.