South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 514.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,391,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,514,792 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 3.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,295,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,084,000 after purchasing an additional 509,293 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,609,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the third quarter worth about $25,065,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,178,595,000 after purchasing an additional 300,712 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 4.1 %

JCI stock opened at $85.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12 month low of $57.78 and a 12 month high of $91.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 124,497 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.67, for a total transaction of $10,292,166.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,802,081.72. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $171,073.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,967.19. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 708,700 shares of company stock valued at $62,083,088. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.13.

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.