Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Marriott International from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Marriott International from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $166.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Marriott International from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Marriott International from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Marriott International from $193.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $180.50.

Marriott International Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:MAR traded down $2.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.77. 2,480,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,792. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.69. Marriott International has a twelve month low of $131.01 and a twelve month high of $195.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.51. The company has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.58.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.12. Marriott International had a return on equity of 168.43% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marriott International will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marriott International news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.18, for a total transaction of $1,032,972.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marriott International news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.18, for a total transaction of $1,032,972.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Menon sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.17, for a total value of $1,057,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,086 shares of company stock worth $3,860,436. Corporate insiders own 12.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marriott International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of South Miami lifted its stake in Marriott International by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of South Miami now owns 890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its stake in Marriott International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 7,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Marriott International by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Marriott International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.97% of the company’s stock.

Marriott International Company Profile

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Marriott International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It operates through the following geography segments: U.S. & Canada, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The company was founded by J. Willard Marriott and Alice Sheets Marriott in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.