Cullen Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Cullen Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,047,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 187,930 shares during the period. Johnson Controls International makes up about 2.8% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $240,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter worth about $568,309,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $560,549,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,870,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,431 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,344,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 391,951.9% during the fourth quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,215,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.27.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $171,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,967.19. The trade was a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total value of $108,621.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 907,286 shares of company stock worth $77,938,071 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

NYSE:JCI opened at $71.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $82.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $47.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

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.