Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,769 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $3,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 437.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

IRT opened at $21.00 on Tuesday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.25 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.29.

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

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

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.