Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Grows Stake in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) by 11,012.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,562 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,062 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Johnson Controls International were worth $4,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson Controls International by 195.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Johnson Controls International by 977.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson Controls International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Johnson Controls International by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius lowered shares of Johnson Controls International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Mizuho raised their price target on Johnson Controls International from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson Controls International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.27.

Johnson Controls International Price Performance

JCI stock opened at $87.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson Controls International plc has a 1 year low of $54.07 and a 1 year high of $88.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.93 and a 200 day moving average of $76.96. The company has a market cap of $57.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International plc will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Johnson Controls International’s payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $108,621.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 148,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,339,568.24. This trade represents a 0.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel C. Mcconeghy sold 1,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $171,073.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,967.19. This represents a 7.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 856,326 shares of company stock worth $72,313,086. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.