Nuveen LLC Purchases Shares of 697,140 Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 697,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,059,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,236,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,820,329,000 after acquiring an additional 184,387 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,720,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,316,682,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 18.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,298,000 after acquiring an additional 654,766 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,507,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,345,000 after acquiring an additional 123,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Marriott International by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,333,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,044,000 after acquiring an additional 327,415 shares in the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MAR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $313.00) on shares of Marriott International in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $300.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $275.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marriott International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.89.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MAR opened at $257.97 on Tuesday. Marriott International, Inc. has a one year low of $205.40 and a one year high of $307.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $268.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.44.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.65. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.60% and a negative return on equity of 93.44%. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.21%.

Marriott International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback 25,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, insider Rajeev Menon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.28, for a total transaction of $670,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,530,805.68. This represents a 30.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.90, for a total transaction of $3,166,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 124,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,741,281.30. The trade was a 8.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marriott International Company Profile

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.