Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Declines By 27.2%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a drop of 27.2% from the August 15th total of 5,780,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 103,332 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 979,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,031,125.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JCI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at $345,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 101,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15,872 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 468.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 32,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 26,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,417,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on JCI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $69.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.08.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of JCI stock traded up $0.43 on Monday, hitting $57.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,537,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,842,103. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.96. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $48.82 and a 1 year high of $70.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03. The business had revenue of $7.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.20 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 22nd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.50%.

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.