First Western Trust Bank Decreases Holdings in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank reduced its stake in Marriott International by 7.0%, now holding 15,897 shares worth approximately $3.79 million.
• Marriott reported a quarterly EPS of $2.65, matching expectations, with revenue of $6.74 billion, surpassing estimates by 4.7% compared to the previous year.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program allowing repurchase of 25 million shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

First Western Trust Bank lessened its position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,897 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,196 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in Marriott International were worth $3,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the company's stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marriott International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 189,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,946,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Marriott International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 92,265 shares of the company's stock worth $25,736,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Marriott International by 368.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 42,716 shares of the company's stock worth $11,915,000 after buying an additional 33,600 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Marriott International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 45,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,333,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $293.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Marriott International from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Marriott International from $283.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Marriott International from $300.00 to $273.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Marriott International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.89.

Marriott International Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MAR stock traded up $4.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $269.15. 434,834 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,714,959. Marriott International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.40 and a 1-year high of $307.52. The company has a market cap of $73.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $268.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.16.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.65. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.60% and a negative return on equity of 93.44%. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Marriott International's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

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

Marriott International announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback 25,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $670,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,706 shares in the company, valued at $1,530,805.68. The trade was a 30.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.90, for a total transaction of $3,166,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 124,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,741,281.30. This trade represents a 8.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.