Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,157,675 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,286 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.35% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide worth $74,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VAC. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the first quarter worth about $279,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the first quarter worth about $228,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 7.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC grew its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 4.5% during the first quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 6,920 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 136.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 395 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. 89.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marriott Vacations Worldwide

In other news, Director Christian Asmar bought 337,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.11 per share, for a total transaction of $22,990,598.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,045,984 shares in the company, valued at $275,571,970.24. The trade was a 9.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on VAC shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $97.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.25.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of VAC stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,836. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.36 and a 200-day moving average of $72.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.48. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.22 and a twelve month high of $100.32. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.10. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Marriott Vacations Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.92%.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Company Profile

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.