This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON)

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) has experienced a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of metrics investors can use to watch their holdings. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as important, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the financial markets. There are many incentives for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON).

Hedge fund activity in Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON)

At year’s end, a total of 31 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -6% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management had the most valuable position in Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON), worth close to $424 million, accounting for 1.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Mario Gabelli of GAMCO Investors, with a $171 million position; 2.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group, Larry Foley and Paul Farrell’s Bronson Point Partners and Michael Messner’s Seminole Capital (Investment Mgmt).

Due to the fact that Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) has witnessed a declination in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there were a few funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely last quarter. Intriguingly, Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital dropped the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we monitor, worth an estimated $23 million in stock.. John Kleinheinz’s fund, Kleinheinz Capital Partners, also cut its stock, about $21 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds last quarter.

How have insiders been trading Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 10 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns demonstrated by our studies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) is an important part of this process.

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