Centersquare Investment Management LLC Sells 20,000 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Centersquare Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC's holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,904,000 after buying an additional 352,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 71,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 298,131 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,915,000 after purchasing an additional 16,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,711,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.22.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 1.3 %

IRT stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.59. The stock had a trading volume of 792,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,133,437. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.25. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.27 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.