Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 554,729 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,806,493 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 554,729 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 14.03% of Independence Realty Trust worth $696,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2.1% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 252,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 10.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Compass Point raised Independence Realty Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.56.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,997,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,705,176. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.97. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.59 and a 12-month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.28. The business had revenue of $161.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.78 million. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 0.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.