Riposte Capital LLC Trims Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Riposte Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,000 shares during the quarter. Johnson Controls International accounts for about 1.7% of Riposte Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Riposte Capital LLC’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,156,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,379,562,000 after purchasing an additional 179,743 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Johnson Controls International by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,939,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,178,595,000 after buying an additional 300,712 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,743,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,597,000 after buying an additional 447,513 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Johnson Controls International by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,475,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,822,000 after acquiring an additional 71,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,309,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:JCI opened at $82.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Johnson Controls International plc has a 12-month low of $59.83 and a 12-month high of $91.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 15.11%. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.49%.

Insider Activity at Johnson Controls International

In related news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.44, for a total value of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,339,568.24. This represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George Oliver sold 15,669 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.49, for a total transaction of $1,214,190.81. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,003,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,791,668.57. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 905,864 shares of company stock valued at $77,824,710. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JCI. 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 research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.27.

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.