Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Marriott International by 12.5%, selling 1,526 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 10,725 shares valued at approximately $2,555,000.
• Marriott International reported earnings of $2.65 per share for the last quarter, matching analyst expectations, while revenue increased 4.7% year-over-year to $6.74 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, with a payout ratio of 30.21%, as part of a broader stock repurchase plan to buy back 25 million shares.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,725 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Marriott International were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of 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. increased its stake in Marriott International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 189,810 shares of the company's stock worth $52,946,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33,600 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Marriott International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 45,782 shares of the company's stock worth $12,333,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Marriott International from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Marriott International in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $284.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Marriott International from $275.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Marriott International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $303.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced 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. Twelve investment 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, Marriott International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.89.

Marriott International Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ:MAR traded up $7.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $265.01. 1,110,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,723,547. The business's 50-day moving average price is $268.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.44. Marriott International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.40 and a 1 year high of $307.52.

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

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

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

Marriott International announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other news, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.90, for a total value of $3,166,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 124,067 shares in the company, valued at $32,741,281.30. The trade was a 8.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rajeev Menon sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.28, for a total value of $670,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,805.68. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.