Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,109,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 270,906 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.78% of Independence Realty Trust worth $87,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IRT. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 45,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 64,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Independence Realty Trust stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.20. 1,657,345 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,039,203. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $22.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.24.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. The firm had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase 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 3.95%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 485.71%.

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.