Short Interest in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) Decreases By 20.6%

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,910,000 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the November 15th total of 9,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other Johnson Controls International news, COO Nathan D. Manning sold 3,000 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $231,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 140,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,828,815.04. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 224,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.72, for a total value of $18,541,853.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,166,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,533,578.24. This represents a 16.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 761,774 shares of company stock valued at $62,725,528 over the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 136.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 91,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,082,000 after acquiring an additional 52,719 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,475,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,822,000 after purchasing an additional 71,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson Controls International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,692,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,106,000 after purchasing an additional 7,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,385,000 after buying an additional 14,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JCI. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.38.

Johnson Controls International Trading Up 1.7 %

JCI stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $84.02. 4,578,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,799,416. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.60 and a 200-day moving average of $73.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.94. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $51.71 and a 1 year high of $87.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.31.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.27%.

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.