Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,966 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.07% of Independence Realty Trust worth $3,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRT. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position 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 valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on IRT. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.70.

Insider Transactions at Independence Realty Trust

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 873,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IRT traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,527,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,568. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.78, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $15.66 and a one year high of $22.26.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. The business had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 457.14%.

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.