Yousif Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $8,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 4.7% in the second quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,517,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Index Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marriott International during the second quarter worth $666,000. M3 Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marriott International during the second quarter worth $221,000. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marriott International during the second quarter worth $468,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 38.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,684,000 after purchasing an additional 8,831 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MAR shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marriott International from $276.00 to $262.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $273.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Marriott International in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Marriott International in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $284.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Marriott International Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MAR opened at $263.26 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.40. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.40 and a 52-week high of $307.52. The firm has a market cap of $71.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.35.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Marriott International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.850-10.080 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.310-2.390 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Marriott International’s payout ratio is presently 30.21%.

Marriott International declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback 25,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.