Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. (NYSE:VAC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.79

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. (NYSE:VAC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has raised its dividend payment by an average of 41.7% annually over the last three years. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a dividend payout ratio of 37.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marriott Vacations Worldwide to earn $7.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.3%.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Performance

Marriott Vacations Worldwide stock traded down $3.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.41. 949,861 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,763. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.46 and a 200 day moving average of $82.60. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a 12 month low of $67.28 and a 12 month high of $108.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VAC has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised Marriott Vacations Worldwide from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.67.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management.