LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

LPL Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 391,263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,824 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $7,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 24.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,360,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $232,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225,371 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,150,000 after buying an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,105,000. Aew Capital Management L P raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,316,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,968,000 after buying an additional 434,290 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT opened at $19.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.32. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.27 and a 12 month high of $22.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.56, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 355.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Company Profile

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.