HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 713,188 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,113 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $85,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,684,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,165,286,000 after purchasing an additional 163,167 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,959,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,864,670,000 after purchasing an additional 354,266 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,535,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,526,000 after purchasing an additional 19,550 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,907,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,456,000 after purchasing an additional 72,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 368.5% during the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 6,796,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,324,000 after purchasing an additional 5,346,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $137.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Lei Zhang Schlitz sold 88,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.99, for a total value of $12,521,180.91. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 57,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,044,748.41. The trade was a 60.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.56, for a total transaction of $513,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 24,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,358.88. This trade represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of JCI stock opened at $135.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.37. Johnson Controls International plc has a twelve month low of $96.01 and a twelve month high of $147.32.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 19.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is presently 28.62%.

About Johnson Controls International

Johnson Controls International plc is a global diversified technology and multi?industrial company that develops products, services and solutions for buildings and energy storage. The company’s core focus is on improving building efficiency, safety and sustainability through a combination of HVAC equipment, building controls and automation, fire and security systems, and related services. Johnson Controls traces its roots to 1885, when inventor Warren S. Johnson developed an electric room thermostat; over its long history the company has expanded from controls into a broad set of building?related technologies and, through corporate transactions, into a global provider of integrated building solutions.

Johnson Controls’ product and service portfolio includes heating, ventilation and air?conditioning equipment, chillers, air handlers and related mechanical systems, together with building automation and control platforms that monitor and manage energy use, indoor environmental quality and security.