Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 521.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the quarter. Marriott International makes up about 7.4% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MAR. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 10.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC lifted its position in Marriott International by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marriott International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marriott International by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Marriott International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MAR. UBS Group increased their price objective on Marriott International from $294.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Marriott International from $285.00 to $277.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Marriott International from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Marriott International from $246.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Marriott International from $280.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.05.

Marriott International Stock Performance

Shares of MAR stock opened at $246.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $274.34 and its 200-day moving average is $270.60. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.55 and a 52 week high of $307.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.58.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.08. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.46% and a negative return on equity of 116.67%. As a group, analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Marriott International’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other news, CFO Kathleen K. Oberg sold 14,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,971,395.74. This trade represents a 50.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.48, for a total value of $292,463.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,262,811.48. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,694 shares of company stock worth $8,938,132 over the last 90 days. 12.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.