Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,088,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,167 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $243,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,797,000 after buying an additional 105,194 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the third quarter worth approximately $5,361,000. Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 223,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,384,000 after purchasing an additional 48,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.1 %

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $76.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.81. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $59.83 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. The company has a market capitalization of $50.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.22.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total transaction of $18,060,939.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,964,191.81. The trade was a 14.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total value of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 907,286 shares of company stock valued at $77,938,071. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.07.

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.