Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 610,092 Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 610,092 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $12,105,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Independence Realty Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IRT. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 33,731 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 7,378 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 94,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 13,856 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 745,930 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,291,000 after acquiring an additional 24,639 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $189,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Independence Realty Trust by 140.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 101,272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 59,157 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IRT traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.74. 3,440,558 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,014,773. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.25 and a 52 week high of $22.26. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.19, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.29.

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

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Independence Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 355.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on IRT. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Independence Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.