Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.15 Billion Stock Position in Honeywell International Inc. $HON

Key Points

• Franklin Resources boosted its stake in Honeywell by 28.8% in Q3 to 10,196,543 shares—worth about $2.15 billion and representing roughly 1.61% of the company.
• Multiple analysts have raised targets and ratings (Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Wolfe, JPMorgan), leaving a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $251.22 (12 Buy, 8 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Honeywell beat quarterly estimates with $2.59 EPS vs. $2.54 expected and $10.07B revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.19 per share (approx. 2.0% yield).

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON - Free Report) by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,196,543 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,277,234 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.61% of Honeywell International worth $2,146,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HON. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Honeywell International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,046,957 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $851,880,000 after acquiring an additional 55,681 shares in the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment boosted its stake in shares of Honeywell International by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,000,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $931,520,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Honeywell International by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,814,512 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $802,957,000 after purchasing an additional 88,723 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Honeywell International by 23,503.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,716,532 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $865,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Honeywell International by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,253,411 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $684,805,000 after purchasing an additional 174,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Honeywell International from $259.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Honeywell International from $273.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $255.00 price objective on Honeywell International in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Honeywell International from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $293.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Honeywell International from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.22.

Insider Transactions at Honeywell International

In related news, VP Robert D. Mailloux sold 5,274 shares of Honeywell International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.00, for a total value of $1,260,486.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,147,917. The trade was a 52.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director D Scott Davis sold 2,367 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,081 shares in the company, valued at $7,459,440. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,190 shares of company stock worth $4,244,287 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Honeywell International Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HON opened at $240.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.97. The stock has a market cap of $152.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.92. Honeywell International Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $248.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.05. Honeywell International had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 40.64%. The company had revenue of $10.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Honeywell International's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Honeywell International Inc. will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

Honeywell International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Honeywell International's payout ratio is presently 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.

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