Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) Short Interest Update

Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 9,057,823 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the February 26th total of 7,511,345 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,200,940 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HON. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Honeywell International from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus increased their price target on Honeywell International from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DZ Bank decreased their price objective on Honeywell International from $248.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Honeywell International from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Honeywell International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Honeywell International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.54.

Insider Transactions at Honeywell International

In related news, VP Robert D. Mailloux sold 10,549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.00, for a total transaction of $2,415,721.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,099,887. The trade was a 68.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director D Scott Davis sold 2,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,081 shares in the company, valued at $7,459,440. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,190 shares of company stock worth $4,244,287. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honeywell International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HON. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Honeywell International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,161,731 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $12,322,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,413 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Honeywell International by 22,704.6% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 53,209,042 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,380,552,000 after purchasing an additional 52,975,716 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Honeywell International by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,677,082 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,179,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,897 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Honeywell International by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,425,421 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,789,706,000 after purchasing an additional 879,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Honeywell International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,716,647 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,066,520,000 after purchasing an additional 120,929 shares during the last quarter. 75.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honeywell International Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ HON traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.03. 3,478,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,380,151. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.06. The company has a market capitalization of $143.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. Honeywell International has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $248.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.60 billion. Honeywell International had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 40.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Honeywell International will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

Honeywell International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Honeywell International’s dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

About Honeywell International

Honeywell International Inc is a diversified, publicly traded multinational conglomerate (NASDAQ: HON) that designs and manufactures a wide range of commercial and consumer products, engineering services and aerospace systems. The company operates through major business platforms that historically include Aerospace; Building Technologies; Performance Materials and Technologies; and Safety and Productivity Solutions. Its portfolio spans avionics and propulsion systems, building controls and HVAC equipment, process technologies and advanced materials, industrial automation software, and personal protective equipment and scanning solutions.

Honeywell’s aerospace business supplies aircraft manufacturers and operators with engines and auxiliary power units, avionics, flight safety systems and aftermarket services.