Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on JCI. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.07.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In related news, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total value of $602,620.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,704.10. This trade represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $9,358,113.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,244,617 shares in the company, valued at $105,294,598.20. This trade represents a 8.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 758,588 shares of company stock worth $62,480,987. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 977.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 169.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

JCI opened at $80.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.12. Johnson Controls International has a one year low of $51.71 and a one year high of $87.16.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 58.27%.

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.