California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 17,296 Shares of Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 387,554 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,296 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $100,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 22,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,973,000 after buying an additional 6,168 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas increased its stake in Marriott International by 3.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 12,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,262,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marriott International during the third quarter valued at about $6,217,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Marriott International by 43.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 167,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,667,000 after purchasing an additional 50,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 109,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,556,000 after purchasing an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Marriott International from $285.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Marriott International from $320.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Marriott International in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $329.00 to $369.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Marriott International from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.47.

Insider Transactions at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, CEO Anthony Capuano sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.22, for a total value of $22,630,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 113,617 shares in the company, valued at $40,813,498.74. This trade represents a 35.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider William P. Brown sold 9,456 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.25, for a total value of $3,387,612.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,940,750. The trade was a 46.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,540 shares of company stock worth $34,274,055. 10.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marriott International Price Performance

MAR opened at $321.84 on Tuesday. Marriott International, Inc. has a one year low of $205.40 and a one year high of $370.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 84.23% and a net margin of 9.93%.Marriott International’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.320-11.570 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.500-2.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is 28.24%.

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.