Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires 11,968 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 67.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,968 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 99,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 133,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

IRT opened at $21.48 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.23. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.23 and a 1-year high of $22.26. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.31, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last released 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 net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Independence Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 355.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

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.