Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 19,800 Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,157,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marriott International during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marriott International in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marriott International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marriott International by 312.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Marriott International in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marriott International

In related news, EVP Drew Pinto sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.81, for a total transaction of $1,439,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,957,998.01. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev Menon sold 3,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.00, for a total value of $1,236,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,124,000. This trade represents a 36.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,157 shares of company stock worth $34,768,825 in the last three months. Insiders own 10.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MAR. BMO Capital Markets raised Marriott International from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $370.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marriott International from $353.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Marriott International from $357.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Marriott International from $355.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $283.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.27.

Marriott International Price Performance

MAR opened at $328.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $330.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.44. The stock has a market cap of $87.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.09. Marriott International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.40 and a 12 month high of $370.00.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 84.23% and a net margin of 9.93%.The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

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