HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 773,248 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 69,708 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Johnson Controls International worth $61,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 580 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised Johnson Controls International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised shares of Johnson Controls International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.27.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at $11,339,568.24. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total transaction of $18,060,939.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,964,191.81. This represents a 14.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 906,050 shares of company stock valued at $77,839,329 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $81.46. 4,057,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,665,688. The company's 50 day moving average is $82.41 and its 200 day moving average is $79.79. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $59.83 and a one year high of $91.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

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.