Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 19,207 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Anuruddha Rathninde sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.13, for a total transaction of $1,546,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 42,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,390,656.62. The trade was a 26.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.90, for a total value of $143,479.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 143,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,457,153.80. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,555 shares of company stock valued at $13,669,414. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 425.0% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 74.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 56.4% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock opened at $103.40 on Thursday. Johnson Controls International has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $105.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.92 and its 200 day moving average is $85.96. The firm has a market cap of $68.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.33.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 13th that allows the company to buyback $9.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 39.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Vertical Research upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lowered Johnson Controls International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.88.

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

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.