CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Increases Holdings in Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAR) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 157,246 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,833 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $43,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAR. FMR LLC grew its stake in Marriott International by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,973,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,945,299,000 after acquiring an additional 56,978 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marriott International by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,026,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,398,321,000 after purchasing an additional 60,458 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marriott International by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,661,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570,144 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Marriott International by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,469,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,662,000 after buying an additional 512,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marriott International during the fourth quarter worth $580,922,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MAR. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Marriott International from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marriott International from $287.00 to $283.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Marriott International from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded Marriott International from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Marriott International from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marriott International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $277.00.

Marriott International Trading Up 0.7 %

MAR opened at $220.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.24. The firm has a market cap of $60.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.42. Marriott International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.55 and a twelve month high of $307.52.

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.08. Marriott International had a negative return on equity of 116.67% and a net margin of 9.46%. On average, analysts forecast that Marriott International, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.48, for a total transaction of $292,463.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,262,811.48. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rena Hozore Reiss sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.65, for a total transaction of $1,003,275.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,089,714.45. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,694 shares of company stock worth $8,938,132. Corporate insiders own 12.32% of the company’s stock.

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.