New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 377,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Independence Realty Trust worth $7,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,573,000. SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $873,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 182.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 400,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 258,549 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 28,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,495,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after purchasing an additional 686,630 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE IRT opened at $20.65 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.35 and a 12-month high of $22.26.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

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.