Investing

CEO Trims Marriott Stake With Shares at All-Time High

Trey Thoelcke

Published: February 28, 2024 11:15 am

Following the behavior of company insiders as they manage their positions in their own companies can reveal a lot. People may sell shares for many reasons, such as buying a house, paying for college, or estate planning. Generally, they buy shares for only one reason: to make more money.

Often, one of the largest and best-informed shareholders in any company is the chief executive officer. Let’s have a look at whether Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) CEO Anthony Capuano has been increasing or decreasing his shares over the past year and whether he knows something we don’t.

What You Need to Know About Marriott

Marriott International operates, franchises, and licenses hotel, residential, timeshare, and other lodging properties worldwide. It operates properties under 30 brand names, including Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Fairfield, in 138 countries and territories. (Customers are abandoning these 25 brands.)

Marriott International was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. That is also home to Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT). Competitors of Marriott include Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE: HLT), Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H), InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: WH). Capuano has been Marriott’s chief executive since 2021, and he is also its president.

The company posted annual revenue of over $6.1 billion, and its market capitalization is around $72.8 billion. The stock is up more than 11% year to date, handily outperforming the S&P 500 in that time, and near an all-time high of $252.17. The share price is 47% or so higher than a year ago.

How Marriott’s CEO Is Trading

One year ago, Capuano owned more than 107,900 shares, worth over $15.1 million. On last look, that share count was 5,700 or so lower to almost 102,200, which is a stake of much less than 1%. The value of the stake has decreased nearly 12% to around $13.3 million.

CEO Anthony Capuano could have sold shares for a variety of reasons, and we may never know why. Unless he knows something that we don’t, there’s little reason to suspect a lack of confidence. The company posted strong fourth-quarter and 2023 results, and the dividend is 300% higher than a decade ago. However, the share price has overrun the analysts’ mean price target, and the consensus recommendation is to hold shares.

Other shareholders to keep an eye on include Richard Marriott, son of the founder, and former CEO John Marriott. They each have a stake larger than Capuano’s, worth $2.8 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively. And note that several other insiders have been selling shares this month.