Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $244 million, or 85 cents per share, surpassing analysts expectations after realizing gains from its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in September.

The Bethesda-based hotel company’s fourth quarter net income was 21 percent higher than the year ago quarter. Earnings beat analysts expectations of 84 cents

The hotel company posted revenue of $5.46 billion in the period, which also topped Wall Street forecasts of $4.82 billion.

Marriott repurchased 8 million shares of its common stocking totaling $573 million, which includes 4.3 million shares for $348 million in the fourth quarter alone.

“The company delivered record high fee revenues in 2016, boosted by significant unit growth,” said Arne M. Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott.

On Sept. 23, Marriott completed its acquisition of Starwood Hotels for $13 billion.

“We added 11 leading brands to our portfolio as a result of the acquisition and welcomed the 6,000th hotel to our system,” said Sorenson. “Together with owners and franchisees, Marriott and Starwood added more than 68,000 rooms during the year and, despite a tightening credit market, drove our pipeline of hotels under development to more than 420,000 rooms.”

Marriott expects full-year 2017 earnings to be $3.79 to $3.97 per share. Analysts had been projecting slightly higher results.

Marriott has more than 6,000 properties in 122 countries and territories.

Marriott’s shares closed at $89.46 on Wednesday, up $1.57 or 1.79 percent.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filing can be found here.