Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 82.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 246,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,186,530 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Independence Realty Trust worth $4,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,968 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 592.0% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,711,746 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,961,000 after buying an additional 1,464,400 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,381,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421,377 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2,601.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 837,787 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,622,000 after acquiring an additional 806,780 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,457,000 after acquiring an additional 793,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independence Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 11,500 shares of company stock valued at $241,445 over the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.8%

IRT traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.08. 577,090 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,567. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.01 and a 1 year high of $22.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust's dividend 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.