Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Raised to Buy at UBS Group

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $103.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $90.00. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.37% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on JCI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.13.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE JCI opened at $87.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson Controls International has a 12 month low of $54.07 and a 12 month high of $88.90. The company has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.01.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson Controls International will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 224,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total value of $18,541,853.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,166,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,533,578.24. The trade was a 16.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. This trade represents a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 856,326 shares of company stock valued at $72,313,086 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JCI. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 977.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

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.