Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Marriott International by 11.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 719,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,896,000 after acquiring an additional 74,832 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Marriott International by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 679,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,355,000 after purchasing an additional 33,149 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 613,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,255,000 after purchasing an additional 12,499 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marriott International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 566,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,844,000 after buying an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marriott International by 3.0% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 443,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,156,000 after buying an additional 12,702 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MAR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $262.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Marriott International from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Marriott International from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marriott International from $268.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Marriott International from $240.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $260.20.

Marriott International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MAR opened at $288.18 on Wednesday. Marriott International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $200.94 and a 12-month high of $289.80. The company has a market cap of $80.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.14.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.31 by ($0.05). Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 177.91% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.36%.

Insider Activity at Marriott International

In other news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 2,360 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.41, for a total value of $673,567.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,338,197.66. The trade was a 5.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 1,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.30, for a total transaction of $485,300.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,791.10. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,815 shares of company stock worth $3,919,739 over the last quarter. 10.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.