Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 134,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $2,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IRT. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,398,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $265,835,000 after buying an additional 2,037,968 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 592.0% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,711,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464,400 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,381,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421,377 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 2,601.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 837,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,622,000 after purchasing an additional 806,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,551,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,457,000 after purchasing an additional 793,403 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IRT. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $18,524,071.65. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,500 shares of company stock worth $241,445. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of IRT opened at $18.18 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.88. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.10 and a twelve month high of $22.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 100.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is presently 485.71%.

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.