Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $259.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MAR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marriott International from $238.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Marriott International from $240.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Marriott International from $267.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Marriott International from $262.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Marriott International from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MAR opened at $280.18 on Thursday. Marriott International has a 1 year low of $200.94 and a 1 year high of $289.04. The company has a market capitalization of $77.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.73.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.27 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 11.18% and a negative return on equity of 177.91%. Marriott International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marriott International will post 9.26 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Marriott International’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, CAO Felitia Lee sold 916 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.48, for a total transaction of $253,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,776.32. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin T. Breland sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.49, for a total value of $137,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,372,384.14. The trade was a 3.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,108 shares of company stock worth $3,434,439 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marriott International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Marriott International in the third quarter valued at approximately $98,249,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Marriott International in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,331,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Marriott International by 15,148.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,208,000 after buying an additional 300,543 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 36,856.7% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 241,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,346,000 after acquiring an additional 240,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Marriott International by 1.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,616,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,678,750,000 after acquiring an additional 192,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Marriott International Company 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.