Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $312.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MAR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Marriott International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $288.00 to $345.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Marriott International from $329.00 to $369.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $278.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Marriott International from $296.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Marriott International from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In related news, EVP Peggy Roe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.12, for a total value of $584,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,102,167.92. This represents a 10.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 6,666 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.04, for a total value of $1,866,746.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,080,440. The trade was a 37.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 88,289 shares of company stock worth $25,669,425. 10.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marriott International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,774,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,410,384,000 after buying an additional 230,820 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Marriott International by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,488,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,371,000 after acquiring an additional 114,973 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Marriott International by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,175,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,389,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,119 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,223,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,308,000 after purchasing an additional 102,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Marriott International by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,921,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,281,825,000 after buying an additional 330,952 shares during the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marriott International Stock Performance

Shares of MAR opened at $325.88 on Tuesday. Marriott International has a fifty-two week low of $205.40 and a fifty-two week high of $331.09. The firm has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $305.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.50.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Marriott International had a net margin of 10.07% and a negative return on equity of 89.29%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. Marriott International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.540-2.620 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 9.980-10.060 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marriott International will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

About Marriott International

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.