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 report released on Saturday.

VAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research downgraded Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho cut shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $61.13.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VAC opened at $53.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.93. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a one year low of $44.58 and a one year high of $91.18. 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 $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.33.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 24th. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.75%.

Insider Activity at Marriott Vacations Worldwide

In related news, Director William W. Mccarten purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.08 per share, for a total transaction of $240,400.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,080.64. This represents a 57.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dianna Morgan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $51.22 per share, with a total value of $25,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,182,874.68. The trade was a 2.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 96,209 shares of company stock worth $4,573,353 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 140,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,036,000 after buying an additional 21,623 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 147.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,064 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 4.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 100,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,465,000 after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at about $465,000. 89.52% of the stock is currently owned by 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.