First Trust Advisors LP Sells 74,728 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,466 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 74,728 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of Independence Realty Trust worth $2,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.21. The company had a trading volume of 270,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,297. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.13. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. The firm had revenue of $160.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Independence Realty Trust's payout ratio is 457.14%.

Insider Activity at Independence Realty Trust

In other Independence Realty Trust news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.78.

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.