Insider Selling: Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Director Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Director Richard D. Gebert sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.28, for a total value of $10,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,408.32. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 3.9 %

Independence Realty Trust stock opened at $20.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.25 and a twelve month high of $22.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.33.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independence Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 17.9% in the fourth 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. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,139,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,811,000 after acquiring an additional 278,959 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,857,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $120,108,000 after acquiring an additional 50,788 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,380,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,904,000 after purchasing an additional 352,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,662,000 after purchasing an additional 60,919 shares in the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.