Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,930 Shares of Johnson Controls International plc $JCI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,930 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,283,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,143,674,000 after purchasing an additional 621,319 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 157.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,965,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646,047 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 28.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,761,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,849 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 0.9% during the second quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,331,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,501,000 after buying an additional 20,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson Controls International by 702.5% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,962,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,820,000 after buying an additional 1,718,179 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson Controls International Stock Performance

JCI stock opened at $142.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $86.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.27. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1 year low of $108.41 and a 1 year high of $160.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.03.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.04 billion. Johnson Controls International had a return on equity of 23.38% and a net margin of 11.12%. Johnson Controls International’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 34.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank reduced their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson Controls International in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juergen Tinggren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.19, for a total transaction of $636,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,698.84. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson Controls International Profile

Johnson Controls International plc develops building technologies, products and services for commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Its offerings include heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, building automation and controls, fire detection and suppression systems, and security solutions. The company also provides maintenance, modernization and other services to help customers manage building operations. Its products and services support facilities such as offices, hospitals, schools, data centers and manufacturing sites.