River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP Sells 3,170 Shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP reduced its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,170 shares during the quarter. River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marriott International by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,035,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,198,000 after buying an additional 548,630 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Marriott International by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,499,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,312,285,000 after purchasing an additional 281,614 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Marriott International by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,763,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,344,000 after purchasing an additional 51,077 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Marriott International by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,591,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,858,000 after purchasing an additional 371,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Marriott International by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,301,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,010,000 after purchasing an additional 153,512 shares in the last quarter. 58.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marriott International Price Performance

MAR opened at $158.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.51, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.61. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.01 and a 52-week high of $195.90.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.12. Marriott International had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 168.43%. The business had revenue of $5.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Marriott International, Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.04%.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 5,765 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.18, for a total value of $1,032,972.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marriott International news, insider William P. Brown sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $425,075.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,015,992.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 5,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.18, for a total transaction of $1,032,972.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,696,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,086 shares of company stock worth $3,860,436 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Marriott International in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Marriott International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $166.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Marriott International from $193.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marriott International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.50.

Marriott International Profile

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Marriott International, Inc engages in the operation and franchise of hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It operates through the following geography segments: U.S. & Canada, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The company was founded by J. Willard Marriott and Alice Sheets Marriott in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.