Strs Ohio Sells 20,600 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Strs Ohio reduced its stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 281,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,600 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $4,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IRT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 98.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,329,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099,993 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 121.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,302,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $326,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,753,959 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 835.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,124,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,396,000 after acquiring an additional 4,576,456 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 151.8% in the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 5,042,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Independence Realty Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $38,207,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

IRT stock opened at $15.55 on Friday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.61 and a 12 month high of $18.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of -222.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.07.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -914.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet cut shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

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.