Castleark Management LLC Acquires 29,550 Shares of Marriott International, Inc. $MAR

Castleark Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 353.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,910 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,550 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $14,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Marriott International by 191.7% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Marriott International by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 300,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,209,000 after buying an additional 42,024 shares during the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott International by 312.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 61,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,625,000 after buying an additional 46,249 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Marriott International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Marriott International by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MAR shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Marriott International from $412.00 to $395.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Marriott International from $353.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Marriott International from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $352.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Marriott International from $394.00 to $393.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.65.

Marriott International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MAR opened at $357.77 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $358.62. Marriott International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $256.76 and a 1 year high of $410.98. The company has a market capitalization of $93.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.10.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 75.81% and a net margin of 9.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.640-11.810 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.740-2.820 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marriott International, Inc. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.26%.

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.