Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Position Raised by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,339 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,681 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $14,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MAR. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International during the fourth quarter valued at $2,990,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Marriott International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in Marriott International during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,465,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Marriott International from $254.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Marriott International from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Marriott International from $251.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marriott International from $238.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other news, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 8,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.49, for a total value of $2,370,370.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,827,620.89. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 1,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.30, for a total value of $485,300.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,791.10. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,815 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,739. 12.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marriott International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MAR opened at $289.66 on Thursday. Marriott International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.55 and a twelve month high of $295.45. The stock has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.23.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 11.18% and a negative return on equity of 177.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is 26.36%.

Marriott International Profile

Marriott International, Inc engages in operating, franchising, and licensing hotel, residential, timeshare, and other lodging properties worldwide. It operates its properties under the JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, St. Regis, EDITION, Bvlgari, Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Le Méridien, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Design Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Aloft Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott, Moxy Hotels, Element Hotels, Protea Hotels by Marriott, City Express by Marriott, and St.