LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other large investors have also recently 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 valued at $265,835,000 after buying an additional 2,037,968 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,150,000 after acquiring an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $12,105,000. Aew Capital Management L P raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 2,316,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,968,000 after purchasing an additional 434,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $7,636,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $18.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.11, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $15.27 and a one year high of $22.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.39 and a 200 day moving average of $20.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. Analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 873,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,524,071.65. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust 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.