Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 85,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,598 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $6,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.27.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total transaction of $14,543,176.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,483,567.04. This trade represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,339,568.24. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 905,864 shares of company stock valued at $77,824,710. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of JCI opened at $79.64 on Monday. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $59.83 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.64.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.49%.

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.