HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 12,641 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,641 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth $873,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,208,000 after buying an additional 258,549 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $4,981,000 after buying an additional 28,059 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after buying an additional 686,630 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT stock opened at $20.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.53, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.31. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.25 and a 1 year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

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