Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Shares Sold by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lowered its stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,172 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $5,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marriott International during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marriott International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Marriott International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Marriott International by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Marriott International in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 58.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marriott International Trading Down 0.5 %

MAR opened at $203.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.59. Marriott International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.90 and a 12-month high of $210.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $200.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.56, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.07. Marriott International had a return on equity of 649.26% and a net margin of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $6.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Marriott International’s payout ratio is 23.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eric Hippeau sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.39, for a total value of $749,877.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,116.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Eric Hippeau sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.39, for a total value of $749,877.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,116.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $4,044,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,287,106.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,723 shares of company stock valued at $21,070,240. 12.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MAR shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $192.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Argus upped their target price on Marriott International from $208.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Marriott International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $204.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Marriott International in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.08.

About Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc operates, franchises, and licenses hotel, residential, timeshare, and other lodging properties worldwide. The company operates through U.S. and Canada, and International segments. It operates its properties under the JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, St.