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

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,963% compared to the typical volume of 931 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.79, for a total transaction of $8,494,125.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,243,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,507,639.29. This trade represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total value of $602,620.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,704.10. This trade represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 758,588 shares of company stock worth $62,480,987 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JCI. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 27.2% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 4,973 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,046,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 2nd quarter worth $2,541,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation grew its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 14,164 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of JCI stock opened at $80.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International has a fifty-two week low of $51.71 and a fifty-two week high of $87.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.07.

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.