Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Increases By 7.5%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,450,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the January 15th total of 8,790,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total value of $14,543,176.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,203,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,483,567.04. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $171,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,967.19. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,113,772 shares of company stock valued at $95,772,462. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,379,562,000 after acquiring an additional 179,743 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,178,595,000 after acquiring an additional 300,712 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,500 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,407,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,452,912,000 after buying an additional 2,150,573 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,597,000 after buying an additional 447,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE JCI traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $90.64. 3,508,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,607,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.93. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $56.28 and a 12 month high of $91.14.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.49%.

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.