Jennison Associates LLC Sells 1,438,455 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. $IRT

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 31.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,165,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,438,455 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.34% of Independence Realty Trust worth $47,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IRT. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 1.9% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 448,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,677,000 after purchasing an additional 8,247 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Independence Realty Trust by 73.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Independence Realty Trust during the first quarter worth about $721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Independence Realty Trust by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 532,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,928,000 after buying an additional 15,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors own 88.25% of the company’s stock.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IRT opened at $16.52 on Tuesday. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $18.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.62, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.95.

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.23. Independence Realty Trust had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 1.35%. The company had revenue of $165.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Independence Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Independence Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independence Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Independence Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Independence Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 360.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Independence Realty Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Independence Realty Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.19.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust that acquires, redevelops and manages multi-family communities. The company focuses on workforce housing, targeting Class A and B garden-style apartments in suburban and urban infill locations. Its core activities include sourcing value-add acquisitions, overseeing property renovations and delivering in-house property management services to optimize rental income and occupancy levels.

Headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Independence Realty Trust maintains a geographically diverse portfolio across several high-growth U.S.