Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.25.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $97.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, July 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott Vacations Worldwide

In related news, Director Christian Asmar acquired 337,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.11 per share, for a total transaction of $22,990,598.61. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,045,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $275,571,970.24. This trade represents a 9.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marriott Vacations Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VAC. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,809 shares of the company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $633,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $560,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $1,564,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $31,677,000. 89.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:VAC traded up $1.81 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.16. The company had a trading volume of 394,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,862. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.48. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a one year low of $49.22 and a one year high of $100.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

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

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Marriott Vacations Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.92%.

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.