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

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position 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 & Exchange Commission. 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $12,105,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 454,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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 MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.40.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of IRT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,664,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,043,979. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.05 and a 52-week high of $22.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.86, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.21.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.