D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 89,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,781,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of IRT. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,208,000 after acquiring an additional 258,549 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,662,000 after purchasing an additional 60,919 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,015,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $20,143,000 after purchasing an additional 56,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $232,245 in the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Independence Realty Trust stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.26. 1,684,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,090,262. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.66 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.35 and its 200 day moving average is $20.04.

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

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 485.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on IRT. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

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.