GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 37,615 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,546,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 37,615 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.67% of Independence Realty Trust worth $32,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $85,000. State of Wyoming raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,355 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $90,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of IRT traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.35. 369,924 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,756. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.05 and a 12-month high of $22.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.16. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. Independence Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. Research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

Independence Realty Trust Company 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.