Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 42,465 shares during the quarter. Independence Realty Trust accounts for about 1.6% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Independence Realty Trust worth $5,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 11.9% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 16,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.4% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 183,828 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1,991.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,800,000 after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 215,662 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $18.18 on Friday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $17.01 and a one year high of $22.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.97, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Independence Realty Trust's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 485.71%.

Insider Activity at Independence Realty Trust

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,445. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on IRT. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group began 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. Finally, Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

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.

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