JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Price Target to $98.00

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $98.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on JCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $101.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Melius lowered shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.35.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE:JCI opened at $97.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $82.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.24. Johnson Controls International has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $97.95.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 24th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck sold 28,289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.92, for a total transaction of $2,572,035.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 147,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,426,429.16. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George Oliver sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total transaction of $9,170,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 904,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,924,768.50. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 460,396 shares of company stock valued at $38,645,569. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 6.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,685,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,797,000 after acquiring an additional 105,194 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 101.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 26,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 13,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.