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

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

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $80.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,348,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,767,233. The stock has a market cap of $53.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $51.71 and a 1 year high of $87.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $81.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.47.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Johnson Controls International's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JCI shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 owns 1,243,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,507,639.29. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total value of $602,620.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 761,774 shares of company stock worth $62,726,419 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 136.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 91,248 shares of the company's stock worth $7,082,000 after purchasing an additional 52,719 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,475,260 shares of the company's stock worth $1,041,822,000 after buying an additional 71,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,692,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,106,000 after acquiring an additional 7,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 3rd quarter valued at $701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

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.