Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 148,457 Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 524,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 148,457 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.27% of Equity LifeStyle Properties worth $34,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 13.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 165,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,773,000 after buying an additional 19,282 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 12,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Equity LifeStyle Properties by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ELS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial raised Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Equity LifeStyle Properties from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.78.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Price Performance

NYSE:ELS opened at $66.56 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.41. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.82 and a 1-year high of $76.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.02 and a quick ratio of 0.03.

Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Equity LifeStyle Properties had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 23.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Equity LifeStyle Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Equity LifeStyle Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Equity LifeStyle Properties’s payout ratio is 105.64%.

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.