Vanguard Group Inc. Has $696.48 Million Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 1.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,806,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 554,729 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Independence Realty Trust worth $696,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 252,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,370,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 10.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 1.6%

IRT stock opened at $17.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.01. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.59 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 144.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.94.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.28. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.78% and a net margin of 4.31%. The firm had revenue of $161.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 566.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Compass Point raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.56.

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.