Johnson Controls International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 19,207 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on JCI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Melius cut shares of Johnson Controls International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upgraded Johnson Controls International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.13.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE:JCI traded down $3.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,748,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,287,466. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.06 and a 200 day moving average of $78.38. The company has a market capitalization of $56.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International has a one year low of $57.78 and a one year high of $91.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 162,894 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.28, for a total transaction of $14,543,176.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $107,483,567.04. The trade was a 11.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $171,073.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,175,967.19. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 719,004 shares of company stock worth $62,950,067 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.