Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Holdings in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) by 41.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 430,985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 126,200 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.23% of Equity Lifestyle Properties worth $28,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 592.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,918,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $260,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352,584 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,212,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,434,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $162,162,000 after purchasing an additional 735,580 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 15.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,330,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $355,515,000 after purchasing an additional 699,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 221.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 975,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,961,000 after purchasing an additional 671,703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ELS. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "positive" rating and a $67.50 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Compass Point upgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.05.

Insider Transactions at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other Equity Lifestyle Properties news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.72, for a total transaction of $647,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,058,644.64. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Performance

ELS stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.56. 1,382,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,557,172. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.86 and a 1-year high of $76.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.69. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.59 million. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a net margin of 24.13% and a return on equity of 21.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.74%.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Profile

Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of lifestyle-oriented properties consisting primarily of manufactured home, and recreational vehicle communities. It operates through the following segments: Property Operations and Home Sales and Rentals Operations.