Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,354 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $12,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MAR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 98.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 8,332 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.49, for a total value of $2,370,370.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 108,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,827,620.89. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 1,707 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.30, for a total transaction of $485,300.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,791.10. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 12.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Marriott International from $280.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Marriott International from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marriott International from $233.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Marriott International from $251.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $266.25.

Marriott International Stock Performance

MAR opened at $287.08 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.93. Marriott International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.55 and a 1 year high of $295.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.58.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 177.91% and a net margin of 11.18%. Marriott International’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 9.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.36%.

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.