Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 270,884 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,251,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 270,884 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 14.33% of Independence Realty Trust worth $639,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $873,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 258,549 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after purchasing an additional 686,630 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,662,000 after purchasing an additional 60,919 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on IRT. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.6 %

IRT opened at $20.85 on Monday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.25 and a 12 month high of $22.26. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 115.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.35 and a 200 day moving average of $20.32.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. Research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL.