Investors Purchase Large Volume of Johnson Controls International Call Options (NYSE:JCI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 5th, 2023

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,963% compared to the average volume of 931 call options.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $52.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.08. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $49.19 and a fifty-two week high of $70.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.25.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.03. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $7.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, September 25th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 22nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 103,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.23, for a total transaction of $6,120,354.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 979,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,031,125.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JCI. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,593,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 371,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,329,000 after purchasing an additional 12,648 shares in the last quarter. 88.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JCI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. HSBC upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Johnson Controls International from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Johnson Controls International from a “conviction-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.54.

View Our Latest Research Report on JCI

Johnson Controls International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.