Aviva PLC Boosts Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,534 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $19,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAR. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the third quarter valued at $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the third quarter valued at $42,000. 58.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other news, EVP Benjamin T. Breland sold 625 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total value of $101,912.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,480,421.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Rajeev Menon sold 6,000 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin T. Breland sold 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.06, for a total value of $101,912.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,421.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,484 shares of company stock worth $4,131,974 in the last 90 days. 12.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Marriott International from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marriott International from $190.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Marriott International from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Marriott International from $176.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.00.

Marriott International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MAR opened at $171.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. Marriott International, Inc. has a one year low of $131.01 and a one year high of $183.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.11.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.23. Marriott International had a return on equity of 272.54% and a net margin of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Marriott International’s quarterly revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. This is a positive change from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

About Marriott International

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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.