Zacks Investment Management Trims Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,924 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $28,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Marriott International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Marriott International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Marriott International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Marriott International by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marriott International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marriott International

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.48, for a total transaction of $292,463.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,262,811.48. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 14,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.07, for a total transaction of $4,031,458.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,971,395.74. This trade represents a 50.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,694 shares of company stock worth $8,938,132. 12.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $285.00 to $277.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down previously from $313.00) on shares of Marriott International in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Marriott International from $246.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on Marriott International from $294.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Marriott International from $308.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.15.

Marriott International Stock Performance

NASDAQ MAR opened at $222.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.42. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.55 and a 52-week high of $307.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.96.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.08. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 116.67% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Marriott International’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

About Marriott International

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.