Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Raised to Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Argus currently has $88.00 target price on the stock.

JCI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.93.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE JCI opened at $80.64 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.19. Johnson Controls International has a 52-week low of $51.71 and a 52-week high of $87.16.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $231,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 140,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,828,815.04. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,704.10. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 761,588 shares of company stock valued at $62,711,800. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 12.8% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 62,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 9,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 223,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,384,000 after acquiring an additional 48,416 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the third quarter worth about $210,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by 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.