Johnson Controls International Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 19,207 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE:JCI traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,087,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,810,299. Johnson Controls International has a 52-week low of $51.70 and a 52-week high of $87.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average is $80.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.75. The company has a market capitalization of $55.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.31.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.67, for a total value of $8,038,392.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,383,385.17. This trade represents a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 872,389 shares of company stock worth $70,763,920 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 17.6% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,996 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,440 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,878 shares of the company's stock worth $3,448,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 90,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $463,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Johnson Controls International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.57.

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.