Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Johnson Controls International Call Options (NYSE:JCI)

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

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock opened at $83.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.89. 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 current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 25th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $9,358,113.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,244,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,294,598.20. The trade was a 8.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $84,899.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 143,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,438,752. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 741,829 shares of company stock valued at $59,952,007. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,178,595,000 after acquiring an additional 300,712 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,295,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,084,000 after buying an additional 509,293 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,475,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,822,000 after purchasing an additional 71,493 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 8.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,855,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,214,000 after buying an additional 479,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 514.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,391,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,439,000 after acquiring an additional 4,514,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.21.

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.