AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys Shares of 3,294 Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Marriott International by 2,750.0% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marriott International during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Marriott International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Marriott International by 203.4% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marriott International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $288.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Marriott International in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $329.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Marriott International from $329.00 to $369.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $296.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rena Hozore Reiss sold 5,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.11, for a total transaction of $1,574,224.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,360 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,649.60. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Peggy Roe sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.12, for a total transaction of $584,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,102,167.92. This trade represents a 10.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 88,289 shares of company stock worth $25,669,425. Corporate insiders own 10.68% of the company’s stock.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MAR opened at $315.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $311.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.76. Marriott International, Inc. has a one year low of $205.40 and a one year high of $331.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.16.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 89.29% and a net margin of 10.07%.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. On average, analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given 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 is 28.30%.

About Marriott International

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.