Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 52,303 Shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:IRT) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 701,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 52,303 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Independence Realty Trust were worth $14,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Independence Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Independence Realty Trust by 295.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,043 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. 88.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independence Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE IRT opened at $20.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.17. Independence Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.99 and a 52-week high of $21.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.97.

Independence Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Independence Realty Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Independence Realty Trust from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.43.

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.