Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Decreases Position in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 59.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,497 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $10,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Marriott International by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $439,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Marriott International by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 88,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,836,000 after acquiring an additional 33,321 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the fourth quarter valued at $877,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,823,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marriott International news, insider William P. Brown sold 12,642 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.63, for a total value of $3,610,934.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,831,393.97. The trade was a 29.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rena Hozore Reiss sold 3,500 shares of Marriott International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.65, for a total transaction of $1,003,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,089,714.45. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,694 shares of company stock valued at $8,938,132 over the last 90 days. 10.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MAR. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $293.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Marriott International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Marriott International from $285.00 to $277.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Marriott International from $294.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.75.

Marriott International Stock Down 0.5%

MAR opened at $257.97 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $237.89 and its 200-day moving average is $266.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.39. Marriott International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.55 and a 52-week high of $307.52.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.46% and a negative return on equity of 116.67%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.70%.

Marriott International Company Profile

Marriott International, Inc engages in operating, franchising, and licensing hotel, residential, timeshare, and other lodging properties worldwide. It operates its properties under the JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, St. Regis, EDITION, Bvlgari, Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, Le Méridien, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Tribute Portfolio, Gaylord Hotels, Design Hotels, Marriott Executive Apartments, Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Aloft Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott, Moxy Hotels, Element Hotels, Protea Hotels by Marriott, City Express by Marriott, and St.