Bank of America Corp DE Reduces Position in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,448,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 37,592 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.64% of Independence Realty Trust worth $28,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 627.5% during 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 period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 67.1% during 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during 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 period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $19.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 108.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.66 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. The firm had revenue of $160.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Independence Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 485.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independence Realty Trust

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $232,245. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70.

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.