American Century Companies Inc. Grows Position in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Knowles Corporation by 25.4%, increasing its holdings to approximately $2.84 million with a total of 187,093 shares owned.
• Other institutional investors have also significantly increased their positions, with 96.35% of Knowles stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts have given Knowles a 'Moderate Buy' rating with an average target price of $21.00, although Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating from 'strong-buy' to 'buy'.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,093 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,941 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.22% of Knowles worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 725.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 47.0% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of Knowles stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.51. 445,293 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,261. Knowles Corporation has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $21.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.69 and a 200-day moving average of $17.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.16 and a beta of 1.50.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total value of $209,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 62,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. This represents a 13.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total value of $1,148,981.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Knowles Profile

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).