Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 197,609 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $13,181,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.10% of Equity Lifestyle Properties as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELS. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 78.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 351.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,865 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties by 137.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust bought a new position in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $200,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Lifestyle Properties

In other news, CFO Paul Seavey sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Stock Down 0.6%

ELS traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,382,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.03. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.86 and a 12 month high of $76.60. The business's fifty day moving average price is $62.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.72. The company has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

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. Equity Lifestyle Properties had a return on equity of 21.12% and a net margin of 24.13%. The firm had revenue of $313.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $377.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Equity Lifestyle Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ELS shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $82.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "positive" rating and a $67.50 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Equity Lifestyle Properties from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Equity Lifestyle Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.05.

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.