Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 272 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Essex Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 8.4% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 170.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,712,000 after acquiring an additional 7,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 14,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 110,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total transaction of $9,358,113.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,244,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,294,598.20. This trade represents a 8.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,061,494 shares of company stock valued at $90,587,400 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Johnson Controls International Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $89.02 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $81.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.38. Johnson Controls International plc has a one year low of $54.07 and a one year high of $89.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is 56.49%.

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.