Brighton Jones LLC Purchases 218 Shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,887 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $2,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Marriott International by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,024,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,613,000 after buying an additional 46,563 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Marriott International by 11.6% in 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 during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Marriott International by 8.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 613,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,399,000 after acquiring an additional 47,551 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Marriott International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 443,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,156,000 after purchasing an additional 12,702 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MAR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on Marriott International from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Marriott International in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Marriott International from $251.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $280.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.15.

Marriott International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MAR opened at $284.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $282.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.01. The company has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.57. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.55 and a 52-week high of $295.45.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. Marriott International’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marriott International, Inc. will post 9.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Marriott International’s payout ratio is 26.36%.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other 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 transaction of $2,370,370.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,827,620.89. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 1,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.30, for a total value of $485,300.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,077 shares in the company, valued at $6,560,791.10. The trade was 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 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.32% of the company’s stock.

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.