Should You Invest in Marriott International Inc (MAR)?

Insider Monkey has processed numerous 13F filings of hedge funds and famous investors to create an extensive database of hedge fund holdings. The 13F filings show the hedge funds and investors’ positions as of the end of the third quarter. You can find write-ups about an individual hedge fund’s trades on several financial news websites. However, in this article we will take a look at their collective moves and analyze what the smart money thinks of Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) based on that data.

Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest of late. A total of 48 funds from our database held shares of the company at the end of September, compared to 36 funds a quarter earlier.  At the end of this article we will also compare MAR to other stocks including ORIX Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:IX), Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK), and HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP) to get a better sense of its popularity.

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Now, we’re going to go over the recent action surrounding Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR).

Hedge fund activity in Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR)

Heading into the fourth quarter, 48 funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 33% from the second quarter of 2016. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management has the biggest position in Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), worth close to $735.5 million, corresponding to 6.9% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Eagle Capital Management, led by Boykin Curry, holding a $614.4 million position; 2.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions consist of John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors  and John Khoury’s Long Pond Capital.

Now, key money managers have jumped into Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) headfirst. D. E. Shaw created the most outsized position in Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR). The fund had $111.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners also made a $87.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MAR positions are Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at ORIX Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:IX), Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK), HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP), and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to MAR’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 27 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.08 billion. That figure was $2.55 billion in MAR’s case. Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand ORIX Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:IX) is the least popular one with only six bullish hedge fund positions. Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) might be a better candidate to consider a long position.