Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Stock Position in Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Marriott International by 39% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 28,946 shares valued at approximately $6.9 million.
• Marriott International's quarterly earnings met analysts' expectations with an EPS of $2.65, while the company reported a revenue of $6.74 billion, which exceeded estimates.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase plan allowing it to buy back 25 million shares, indicating that the board believes its shares are currently undervalued.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR - Free Report) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,946 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,123 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Marriott International were worth $6,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Marriott International in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 46.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 157 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In related news, insider Rajeev Menon sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.28, for a total transaction of $670,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,805.68. The trade was a 30.47% 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, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.90, for a total transaction of $3,166,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 124,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,741,281.30. This represents a 8.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $293.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Marriott International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Marriott International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $300.00 to $273.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marriott International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $281.00.

Marriott International Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Marriott International stock opened at $263.53 on Thursday. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.40 and a 52-week high of $307.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $268.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.38. The firm has a market cap of $71.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.44.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.60% and a negative return on equity of 93.44%. The business's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Marriott International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.850-10.080 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.310-2.390 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase 25,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Marriott International's payout ratio is currently 30.21%.

Marriott International 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.

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