Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,650,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 9,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE JCI traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,591,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,429,269. Johnson Controls International has a 1-year low of $52.02 and a 1-year high of $87.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.96 and a 200 day moving average of $75.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 58.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, CEO George Oliver sold 110,616 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.60, for a total value of $9,358,113.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,244,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,294,598.20. The trade was a 8.16 % 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, EVP Marlon Sullivan sold 7,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.35, for a total transaction of $602,620.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,687,704.10. The trade was a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 647,787 shares of company stock valued at $53,972,452. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the second quarter worth $241,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 11,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 83.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 582,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,947,000 after acquiring an additional 264,187 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $408,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 18.8% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JCI shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Johnson Controls International from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.53.

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.