Heavy Insider Selling at These 3 Companies Amid Global Market Rout

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) has not had any corporate insiders purchase shares since the summer of 2013, whereas the insider trading activity on the sell side has been extremely high lately. Vice Chairman Roger Fradin unloaded 31,384 shares on Wednesday at prices varying from $102.56 to $103.01 per share, trimming his direct ownership stake to 44,364 shares. The Vice Chairman also holds an indirect ownership stake of 3,779 shares, which are held in a 401(k) plan.

The shares of the diversified technology and manufacturing company are currently trading at the same level they were trading at a year ago, and it would be reckless to pinpoint specific developments that might explain the executive’s recent sale. At the end of 2015, Honeywell completed the acquisition of meter-maker Elster Group SE, a deal that was valued at $5.1 billion. The acquisition was part of the company’s mergers and acquisitions expansion strategy, which involves a five-year M&A target of $10 billion. The aforementioned Vice Chairman is the one responsible for advancing the strategy towards reaching its goal through the end of 2018. Honeywell International generated sales of $38.58 billion in 2015, down from $40.31 billion reported for 2014. Nonetheless, the company’s reported earnings per share for 2015 increased to $6.04, up from $5.33 per share in 2014. It should also be mentioned that Honeywell’s management anticipates its full-year 2016 sales to be in the range of $39.9 billion to $40.9 billion, which denotes an increase of 3%-to-6% year-over-year. To sum up, the industrial giant seems to be fairly valued at the moment relative to its peers given its forward P/E multiple of 14.27, which is slightly below the average of 14.80 for the Industrial Machinery industry. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) by 3.92 million shares during the fourth quarter to 4.53 million shares.

Let’s wrap up our examination by looking at the insider selling at Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX), which had two executives trim their holdings this past week. Chief Investment Officer David Webb sold 3,983 shares on Friday at prices that fell between $96.50 and $96.80 per share and currently owns 19,202 shares. Furthermore, Corporate Vice President and Chief Legal Officer John J. Kelley III discarded a 17,827-share block on the same day at prices ranging from $96.68 to $97.11 per share. After the recent selloff, the CVP continues to own 10,843 units of common stock.

The provider of information solutions, employment, income verification and human resources services has seen its stock drop by 12% since the beginning of 2016. The recent insider selling comes after the company released strong fourth quarter financial figures and provided a strong outlook for 2016. The credit reporting company generated $2.7 billion in revenue last year, which was up by 9% year-over-year, while its diluted earnings per share increased by 19% year-over-year to $3.55. In terms of 2016 guidance, Equifax anticipates revenue of $3.0 billion-to-$3.1 billion, significantly higher than analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. The company’s Board of Directors also approved a 14% increase to its quarterly dividend, to $0.33 per share. Last but not least, the company anticipates its 2016 adjusted earnings to be in the range of $4.95 to $5.05 per share, close to the midpoint of analysts’ earnings expectations of $4.99 per share, which yields a forward P/E ratio of 19.53, which is above the ratio of 15.25 for the S&P 500 Index. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC reported owning 334,395 shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) through its 13F filing for the fourth quarter.

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