AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 64.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 173,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317,266 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $11,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JCI. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 65.2% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 39.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 126.8% during the first quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.29.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $76.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.86 and a 200-day moving average of $68.55. The firm has a market cap of $51.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1-year low of $47.90 and a 1-year high of $78.23.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 25th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $84,899.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 143,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,438,752. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $84,899.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 143,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,438,752. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total value of $8,038,392.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at $90,383,385.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,693 shares of company stock worth $8,258,225 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.