Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 352,307 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.95% of Independence Realty Trust worth $86,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 122,544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 133,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 worth $56,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 11,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on IRT. Barclays cut their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independence Realty Trust

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $212,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. This trade represents a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 7.5 %

Shares of NYSE:IRT opened at $19.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.32. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.25 and a 12-month high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 355.56%.

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.