Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $48.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. Marriott Vacations Worldwide traded as low as $51.20 and last traded at $51.21. 104,006 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 432,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.47.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $142.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $116.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephanie Sobeck Butera bought 650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.66 per share, for a total transaction of $46,579.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 8,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $628,458.20. The trade was a 8.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marriott Vacations Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VAC. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 136.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 395 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 1st quarter valued at about $436,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 97,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,258,000 after purchasing an additional 30,564 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 6,557.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,647 shares of the company's stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 14,427 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.52% of the company's stock.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.86.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.35. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Marriott Vacations Worldwide's payout ratio is presently 56.23%.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management.