Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Decreases By 14.9%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,940,000 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the September 30th total of 10,510,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total transaction of $8,494,125.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,507,639.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total value of $231,240.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,828,815.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total value of $8,494,125.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,507,639.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 226,327 shares of company stock valued at $16,916,720 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 65.2% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 977.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of JCI stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $75.54. The stock had a trading volume of 605,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,947,253. Johnson Controls International has a 1-year low of $48.53 and a 1-year high of $78.23. The firm has a market cap of $50.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.35 and its 200-day moving average is $70.29.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Johnson Controls International’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 25th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.92%.

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.