Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 19,207 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the typical daily volume of 931 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho cut Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.08.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:JCI opened at $63.69 on Thursday. Johnson Controls International has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $70.43. The stock has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.29.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.94 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 7.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Johnson Controls International will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Institutional Trading of Johnson Controls International

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisory Resource Group boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.7% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 9,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 3.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors raised its position 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 during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.