Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its stake in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 3.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 59,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,915 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $19,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Marriott International by 151.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,921,000 after buying an additional 14,595 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Marriott International by 4.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marriott International by 3.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Marriott International by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 18,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,068,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Marriott International by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Marriott International from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marriott International from $336.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marriott International from $446.00 to $449.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marriott International from $387.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marriott International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marriott International

In other news, EVP Peggy Roe sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.56, for a total transaction of $1,084,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,827 shares in the company, valued at $7,168,650.12. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MAR opened at $372.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $98.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.11. Marriott International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.76 and a 1 year high of $410.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $379.52 and a 200 day moving average of $354.41.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.16. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.72% and a negative return on equity of 80.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.380-11.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.990-3.060 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 11.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.64%.

Marriott International Profile

Marriott International is a global lodging company that develops, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Its core activities include hotel and resort management, franchise operations, property development and the provision of centralized services such as reservations, marketing and loyalty program management. The company’s brand architecture spans market segments from luxury and premium to select-service and extended-stay, enabling it to serve a wide range of business and leisure travelers as well as corporate and group customers.

The company traces its roots to the hospitality business founded by J.