287,831 Shares in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 287,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,711,000. Norges Bank owned 0.13% of Independence Realty Trust at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 613,867 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,179,000 after acquiring an additional 70,867 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,506,902 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,737,000 after purchasing an additional 11,784 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $1,155,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $949,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Independence Realty Trust by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 863,454 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,131,000 after buying an additional 174,429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.25% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Independence Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Scott Schaeffer sold 10,000 shares of Independence Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $212,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 873,365 shares of the company's stock, 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IRT shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Monday, April 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target 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 seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.33.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT stock traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $18.85. 75,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,211. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 104.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.98. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $15.27 and a one year high of $22.26.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 355.56%.

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.