Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $306.8125.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Marriott International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marriott International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $288.00 to $345.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Marriott International from $278.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised Marriott International from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Marriott International in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $329.00 price target on the stock.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of Marriott International stock opened at $323.35 on Tuesday. Marriott International has a 1-year low of $205.40 and a 1-year high of $331.09. The stock has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.82.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 89.29% and a net margin of 10.07%.The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Marriott International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.540-2.620 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 9.980-10.060 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Marriott International will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marriott International news, CAO Felitia Lee sold 1,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.98, for a total transaction of $494,769.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,893 shares in the company, valued at $1,497,160.14. This represents a 24.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peggy Roe sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.12, for a total value of $584,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,102,167.92. This represents a 10.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,289 shares of company stock worth $25,669,425. Insiders own 10.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Marriott International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,774,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,410,384,000 after purchasing an additional 230,820 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Marriott International by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,488,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,592,371,000 after buying an additional 114,973 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Marriott International by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,175,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,389,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,119 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Marriott International by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,223,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,308,000 after buying an additional 102,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,921,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,825,000 after acquiring an additional 330,952 shares during the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marriott International Company Profile

Marriott International is a global lodging company that develops, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Its core activities include hotel and resort management, franchise operations, property development and the provision of centralized services such as reservations, marketing and loyalty program management. The company’s brand architecture spans market segments from luxury and premium to select-service and extended-stay, enabling it to serve a wide range of business and leisure travelers as well as corporate and group customers.

The company traces its roots to the hospitality business founded by J.