Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) Upgraded to Buy by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $80.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $76.00.

JCI has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Johnson Controls International from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an overweight rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $70.21.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Shares of JCI opened at $72.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Johnson Controls International has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.46 and a 200-day moving average of $67.27.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.06. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th 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 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 1,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.01, for a total transaction of $77,033.67. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,901,741.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,245 shares of company stock worth $295,442. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 50,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 16,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 5.7% during the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Johnson Controls International by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.