Easterly Investment Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 122,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,502 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $9,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the third quarter valued at $200,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,385,000 after purchasing an additional 14,925 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 25.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 169.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 26.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on JCI. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.27.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE:JCI opened at $82.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.41. The stock has a market cap of $54.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $59.83 and a one year high of $91.14.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total value of $18,060,939.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,964,191.81. This represents a 14.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 905,864 shares of company stock valued at $77,824,710. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Johnson Controls International Company 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.