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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 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. Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Johnson Controls International in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 owns 1,243,751 shares in the company, valued at $95,507,639.29. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 761,774 shares of company stock valued at $62,726,419 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Johnson Controls International by 1.2% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 81,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,436,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 5.7% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson Controls International by 28.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 230,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,342,000 after purchasing an additional 15,879 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.2 %

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $80.85 on Friday. Johnson Controls International has a one year low of $51.71 and a one year high of $87.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.30 and its 200 day moving average is $74.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.31. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is presently 58.27%.

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.