Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Honeywell International were worth $6,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honeywell International in the 4th quarter valued at $8,483,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Honeywell International during the fourth quarter valued at $6,151,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Honeywell International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 290,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $65,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Honeywell International by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 311 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honeywell International during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,573,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Honeywell International from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Honeywell International from $253.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Honeywell International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $236.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Honeywell International from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Honeywell International from $251.00 to $247.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.08.

Honeywell International Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Honeywell International stock opened at $214.17 on Friday. Honeywell International Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.75 and a twelve month high of $242.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.81.

Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The conglomerate reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.10. Honeywell International had a return on equity of 35.78% and a net margin of 14.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Honeywell International Inc. will post 10.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Honeywell International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Honeywell International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.89%.

Insider Activity at Honeywell International

In related news, VP Anne T. Madden sold 28,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.89, for a total transaction of $6,004,902.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,644,066.20. This represents a 40.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Honeywell International Profile

Honeywell International Inc engages in the aerospace technologies, building automation, energy and sustainable solutions, and industrial automation businesses in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aerospace segment offers auxiliary power units, propulsion engines, integrated avionics, environmental control and electric power systems, engine controls, flight safety, communications, navigation hardware, data and software applications, radar and surveillance systems, aircraft lighting, advanced systems and instruments, satellite and space components, and aircraft wheels and brakes; spare parts; repair, overhaul, and maintenance services; and thermal systems, as well as wireless connectivity services.