Markel Group Inc. Purchases 16,500 Shares of Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 89,750 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $27,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 603,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,158,000 after purchasing an additional 9,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Marriott International by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,465,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,654,000 after buying an additional 124,759 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Marriott International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $858,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in Marriott International by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 73,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,210,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marriott International by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 386,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,696,000 after buying an additional 41,547 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marriott International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MAR opened at $369.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.55 and a 52-week high of $380.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $347.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.54.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.72% and a negative return on equity of 80.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.380-11.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.990-3.060 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peggy Roe sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.56, for a total transaction of $1,084,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $7,168,650.12. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Marriott International

Here are the key news stories impacting Marriott International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its earnings outlook for multiple future periods, including FY2026, FY2027, FY2028 and several quarterly estimates, signaling confidence in Marriott’s long-term profitability and growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also lifted estimates for Q1 2027, Q3 2027 and Q4 2027, reinforcing the view that earnings momentum could remain strong beyond the near term.
• Positive Sentiment: Marriott announced 75 signings and 50 openings for Series by Marriott in India with The Fern Hotels & Resorts, adding more than 3,556 rooms and highlighting strong owner demand and international expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Additional headlines pointed to improving hotel demand in Asia-Pacific and a new all-inclusive resort project in Riviera Maya, both of which suggest healthy travel demand and ongoing development activity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks trimmed a few near-term estimates, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026 and Q2 2027, but the changes were modest and were outweighed by the upward revisions to later periods.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $357.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $372.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Marriott International in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $343.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $350.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.64.

Marriott International Company Profile

Marriott International is a global lodging company that develops, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Its core activities include hotel and resort management, franchise operations, property development and the provision of centralized services such as reservations, marketing and loyalty program management. The company’s brand architecture spans market segments from luxury and premium to select-service and extended-stay, enabling it to serve a wide range of business and leisure travelers as well as corporate and group customers.

The company traces its roots to the hospitality business founded by J.