Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 168,179 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 920,694 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 168,179 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Johnson Controls International worth $72,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JCI. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 514.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,391,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514,792 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,295,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,084,000 after purchasing an additional 509,293 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,609,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Johnson Controls International during the third quarter worth about $25,065,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,178,595,000 after buying an additional 300,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JCI opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Johnson Controls International plc has a fifty-two week low of $56.28 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 6.83%. On average, analysts predict that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total transaction of $108,621.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,339,568.24. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 10,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total value of $866,978.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,166,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,190,706.88. The trade was a 0.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 889,434 shares of company stock valued at $77,215,058. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on JCI shares. Argus raised Johnson Controls International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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 lowered their target price on Johnson Controls International from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eight investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.