UPDATE: MLV & Co Reiterates Hold Rating, Raises PT on Marriott International Following Strong 2Q Results

In a report published Thursday, MLV & Co analyst Ryan Meliker reiterated a Hold rating on

, and raised the price target from $64.00 to $67.00. In the report, MLV & Co noted, “MAR reported strong 2Q results, exceeding guidance across the board, but coming in below elevated buy-side expectations. While North American RevPAR growth was up a solid 6.0% in the quarter, investors had been looking for higher growth, given STR's US-wide 2Q tracking of +8.2% RevPAR growth. However, management continued to highlight an acceleration in group trends, with 2Q group revenues up 5% when adjusting for the Easter calendar shift, pacing up almost 10% in 3Q and up 8% on a forward-four-quarter basis. Despite strong fundamentals, with the stock trading at 13.6x 2015E EBITDA (on the current capital structure), we believe investors are already pricing in an acceleration in RevPAR growth. As such, we see limited upside to shares, but do believe that as fundamentals continue to improve the shares can grind higher. As such, we maintain our HOLD rating, but increase our price target by $3, to $67, while pushing it out to year-end 2015.” Marriott International closed on Wednesday at $65.41.