Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Increases Holdings in Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 19,672 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.12% of Independence Realty Trust worth $4,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC now owns 3,539,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,796,000 after buying an additional 461,572 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,187,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,850,000 after buying an additional 75,700 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,044,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,842,000 after buying an additional 46,841 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 853,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,012,000 after purchasing an additional 173,700 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Independence Realty Trust by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 829,518 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,649 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of IRT stock opened at $15.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.76. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $11.61 and a one year high of $18.77.

Independence Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -914.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on IRT shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

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.