Marriott Boosts Investors' Sentiments With a 6% Dividend Hike

Marriott International, Inc. MAR has been following an incremental dividend policy since the early 2000s. In sync with this, it recently boosted its investors’ sentiments again with a quarterly dividend hike.The board of directors approved a quarterly dividend payout of 67 cents per share ($2.68 per share annually), which is up 6.3% from the previous dividend payout of 63 cents ($2.52 per share annually). The amount will be paid out on June 30, 2025, to shareholders of record as of May 23. Based on the closing price of $257.97 per share on Friday, the stock has a dividend yield of 1%.This strategic move by the company underscores a strong cash position and notable earnings growth in its recently reported quarterly results. (read more: Marriott Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Lag, RevPAR Rises Y/Y)What Bolstered Marriott’s Dividend Hike?Marriott focuses on an incremental capital allocation strategy, which highlights investments made in growth opportunities that prove incremental to shareholder value and returns the excess cash flow to its shareholders through a strategic mix of share repurchases and dividends. This specific dividend hike is mainly supported by its strong cash flow generation in the first quarter of 2025, which highlights a favorable quarterly performance driven by continued travel demand growth, fee-driven business model and elevated global development activity.As of March 31, 2025, Marriott has cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $546 million, up from $448 million at 2024-end. Its short-term obligation at the first-quarter 2025 end declined to $959 million from $1.31 billion at 2024-end. Such an effort is noteworthy while understanding the liquidity position and long-term prospects of a company.Year to date through April 29, 2025, the company returned $1.2 billion to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Moreover, it repurchased 3.9 million shares during the said time frame, worth $1 billion. For 2025, Marriott expects to return approximately $4 billion to its shareholders after incurring capital expenditure worth $355 million for the citizenM acquisition transaction.MAR Stock Price PerformanceShares of this worldwide hospitality company focused on lodging management and franchising have gained 15.4% in the past month, outperforming the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry’s 13.6% growth.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchMoving through 2025 and beyond, the company’s strategic in-house initiatives, diversified global portfolio and Marriott Bonvoy travel platform and top-tier loyalty program are expected to support growth amid the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.MAR’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksMarriott currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Here are some better-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector.Fox Corporation FOX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.9%, on average. The stock has inched up 8% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fox Corp.’s fiscal 2025 sales and earnings per share (EPS) implies growth of 13.9% and 32.1%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.Laureate Education, Inc. LAUR presently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 56.1%, on average. The stock has moved up 25.8% in the year-to-date period.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Laureate’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 0.3% and 23.7%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.Stride, Inc. LRN currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 94.7%, on average. The stock has gained 38.4% in the year-to-date period.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stride’s fiscal 2025 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 16.7% and 51.2%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Marriott International, Inc. (MAR): Free Stock Analysis Report Stride, Inc. (LRN): Free Stock Analysis Report Fox Corporation (FOX): Free Stock Analysis Report Laureate Education (LAUR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks