Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $284.00 price target on the stock.

MAR has been the topic of several other research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Marriott International to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Marriott International from $302.00 to $299.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Marriott International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Marriott International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $226.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marriott International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.90.

Marriott International Stock Performance

MAR opened at $265.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.34. Marriott International has a twelve month low of $204.55 and a twelve month high of $307.52. The firm has a market cap of $72.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.42.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.07. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.75% and a negative return on equity of 100.64%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marriott International will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.52%.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other news, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.90, for a total transaction of $3,166,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,741,281.30. The trade was a 8.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Menon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.28, for a total value of $670,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,805.68. This trade represents a 30.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,107,710. 10.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marriott International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAR. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 12,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.