South Plains Financial Inc. Invests $884,000 in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $884,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Marriott International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $373,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Marriott International during the third quarter worth about $1,260,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 894 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Marriott International by 86.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,375 shares of the company's stock worth $4,071,000 after buying an additional 7,607 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MAR traded up $4.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $252.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,446,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,012. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $239.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.61. The firm has a market cap of $69.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.39. Marriott International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.55 and a 12 month high of $307.52.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.46% and a negative return on equity of 116.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Marriott International's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider William P. Brown sold 12,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.63, for a total transaction of $3,610,934.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,831,393.97. This represents a 29.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 14,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.07, for a total value of $4,031,458.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,971,395.74. This trade represents a 50.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,694 shares of company stock valued at $8,938,132 in the last 90 days. 10.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MAR. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $275.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Marriott International from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Marriott International from $308.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Marriott International from $294.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Marriott International from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $273.10.

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.