New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 31,305 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,526 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 31,305 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Independence Realty Trust worth $7,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IRT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth $204,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% in the 4th 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. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 34,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.78. 2,479,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,025,099. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.93. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $22.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.40.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.17 dividend. 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 yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 485.71%.

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.