Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $144,000 Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 833.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,477 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at about $873,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 258,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,150,000 after purchasing an additional 686,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 60,919 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on IRT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $18.94 on Tuesday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.27 and a 12-month high of $22.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.29 and its 200-day moving average is $20.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Independence Realty Trust 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.