Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $83.48 Million Stock Holdings in Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 3.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 255,249 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,264 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $83,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMB Wealth Management acquired a new position in Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,762,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marriott International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $812,570,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 16,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,968,000 after acquiring an additional 9,075 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marriott International by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 56,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,429,000 after acquiring an additional 36,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 16,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Marriott International from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Marriott International from $372.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Marriott International from $336.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Marriott International from $280.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Marriott International in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marriott International news, EVP Peggy Roe sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.56, for a total value 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 approximately $7,168,650.12. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marriott International Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MAR stock opened at $371.14 on Friday. Marriott International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.76 and a twelve month high of $410.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $376.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.11.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 80.97% and a net margin of 9.72%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 11.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is 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.