Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Johnson Controls International Call Options (NYSE:JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,963% compared to the average volume of 931 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson Controls International

In other news, VP Nathan D. Manning sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares in the company, valued at $11,339,568.24. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO George Oliver sold 124,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.67, for a total value of $10,292,166.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,802,081.72. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 837,777 shares of company stock valued at $72,867,455 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson Controls International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Johnson Controls International by 384.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 244,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,959,000 after purchasing an additional 193,913 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 11.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,962,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,303,000 after buying an additional 204,854 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 18.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,204,000 after buying an additional 20,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Johnson Controls International by 2.6% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 117,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,119,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

Johnson Controls International stock opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.02. Johnson Controls International has a 1 year low of $59.83 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company has a market capitalization of $53.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upgraded Johnson Controls International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $103.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Johnson Controls International from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.13.

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.