Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Lowers Stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 50.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,115 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $5,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 15,148.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,208,000 after purchasing an additional 300,543 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 36,856.7% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 241,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,346,000 after purchasing an additional 240,674 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 1.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,616,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,678,750,000 after purchasing an additional 192,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 4.7% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,296,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $831,836,000 after purchasing an additional 149,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 133.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 221,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,442,000 after purchasing an additional 126,323 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MAR. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Marriott International from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Marriott International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $267.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Marriott International from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Marriott International from $240.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Marriott International from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.39.

Marriott International Stock Up 1.1 %

MAR stock opened at $260.63 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.66. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.75 and a 52-week high of $266.58. The firm has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.01. Marriott International had a net margin of 12.01% and a negative return on equity of 239.60%. The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.01%.

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.