Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Howard Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other news, CEO George Oliver sold 205,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.03, for a total transaction of $18,060,939.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,260,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,964,191.81. The trade was a 14.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 708,700 shares of company stock worth $62,083,088. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI stock opened at $83.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $58.15 and a 12-month high of $91.14.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JCI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.13.

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.