Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 8,860 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 70,532 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in JCI. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth $1,402,000. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 46,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $76.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.32. 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 plc has a twelve month low of $52.02 and a twelve month high of $87.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.44.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO George Oliver sold 224,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total transaction of $18,541,853.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,166,992 shares in the company, valued at $96,533,578.24. The trade was a 16.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 transaction of $602,620.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 647,787 shares of company stock valued at $53,972,452 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised 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 research note on Thursday, December 5th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.00.

Johnson Controls International Profile

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.