Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,278 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in Marriott International during the fourth quarter worth about $5,471,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marriott International during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,350,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MAR. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Marriott International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $251.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $246.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $280.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $285.00 to $277.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 14,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 50.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 12,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 30,919 shares in the company, valued at $8,831,393.97. The trade was a 29.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,694 shares of company stock valued at $8,938,132. 12.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of Marriott International stock opened at $243.11 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.22, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.58. Marriott International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.55 and a 12 month high of $307.52.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.08. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.46% and a negative return on equity of 116.67%. Analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

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.