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

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 19,207 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,963% compared to the average daily volume of 931 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson Controls International news, VP Lei Zhang Schlitz sold 32,031 shares of Johnson Controls International stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.20, for a total transaction of $3,625,909.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,559,496. This trade represents a 32.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Johnson Controls International by 425.0% during the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Johnson Controls International by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson Controls International in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson Controls International during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on JCI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Johnson Controls International in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Johnson Controls International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Johnson Controls International from $124.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Johnson Controls International from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Johnson Controls International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.32.

Johnson Controls International Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Johnson Controls International stock opened at $115.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Johnson Controls International has a 52-week low of $68.03 and a 52-week high of $123.78. The company has a market capitalization of $70.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.70 and a 200 day moving average of $108.51.

Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. Johnson Controls International had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Johnson Controls International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.550-4.55 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Johnson Controls International will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson Controls International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Johnson Controls International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.43%.

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.