Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) Stock Price

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) had its price target hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $400.00 to $402.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MAR. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $280.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $388.00 to $386.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $356.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Marriott International from $372.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marriott International from $350.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.13.

Marriott International Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ MAR opened at $353.17 on Friday. Marriott International has a 1-year low of $253.55 and a 1-year high of $380.00. The company has a market capitalization of $93.13 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $343.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.01.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.16. Marriott International had a net margin of 9.72% and a negative return on equity of 80.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Marriott International’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Marriott International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.380-11.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.990-3.060 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Marriott International will post 11.65 EPS for the current year.

Marriott International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Marriott International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.12%.

Insider Activity at Marriott International

In other Marriott International news, EVP Drew Pinto sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.81, for a total transaction of $1,439,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,221 shares in the company, valued at $2,957,998.01. This represents a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin T. Breland sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.03, for a total transaction of $716,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,451,633.97. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,028 shares of company stock valued at $33,377,271. 11.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marriott International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 39.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Marriott International by 39.6% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Marriott International by 21.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Marriott International by 3.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 137,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,520,000 after acquiring an additional 5,007 shares during the period. 70.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marriott International Company 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.