Honeywell International Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Cote sold $36 million of shares in the aerospace manufacturer three days before it approached United Technologies Corp. with a purchase offer.
The sales -- representing half of Cote’s stake, the highest proportion of three sales in the past year -- were executed on Feb. 16, Honeywell said in a regulatory filing. The document didn’t indicate whether Cote used a pre-arranged stock-trading plan. Three days later, Honeywell met with United Technologies to present the bid. Shares of the Morris Plains, New Jersey-based company fell as much as 2.4 percent on Feb. 22 when the offer became public through news reports.
