Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on VAC. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $127.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $87.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.38.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Up 0.2%

VAC opened at $57.77 on Friday. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a 12 month low of $44.58 and a 12 month high of $92.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 3.87 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.37.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.05. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.100 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Marriott Vacations Worldwide will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 24th. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 70.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christian Asmar purchased 84,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.44 per share, for a total transaction of $3,984,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,130,340 shares in the company, valued at $195,943,329.60. The trade was a 2.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jonice M. Gray acquired 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.47 per share, with a total value of $59,917.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $719,276.35. This represents a 9.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 96,100 shares of company stock valued at $4,566,692. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 627.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 90.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 89.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Company Profile

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, specializes in the development, marketing and management of vacation ownership resorts and related products. Originally launched as a division of Marriott International in 1984, the company became a separate publicly traded entity in 2011. Since then, it has expanded its offerings through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, establishing itself as a leading provider in the global timeshare industry.

The company’s core business activities include selling vacation ownership interests, managing a growing portfolio of branded resorts and operating a loyalty program that allows members to exchange or use points at affiliated properties.