Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $70.66 Million Stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,561,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,919 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.58% of Independence Realty Trust worth $70,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IRT. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 25,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 4,989 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 4,263 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 33,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 7,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:IRT opened at $20.84 on Wednesday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.23 and a 12-month high of $22.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.27.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.24. Independence Realty Trust had a return on equity of 1.11% and a net margin of 6.15%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

About Independence Realty Trust

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.