Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (NYSE:VAC) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $62.48, but opened at $60.07. Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares last traded at $59.69, with a volume of 153,269 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VAC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $115.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Marriott Vacations Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.13.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.51.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 24th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William W. Mccarten bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.08 per share, for a total transaction of $240,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,080.64. The trade was a 57.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lizanne Galbreath acquired 5,500 shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.51 per share, for a total transaction of $255,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,958.14. The trade was a 27.21% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 96,209 shares of company stock worth $4,573,353. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 90.6% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 79.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its holdings in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 4,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 89.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

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.