Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 88.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,126 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 119,208 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Knowles were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Knowles by 725.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Knowles by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Knowles by 835.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Knowles by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,451 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Knowles during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Price Performance

NYSE KN traded up $0.31 on Monday, hitting $17.52. 527,112 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,601. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.31 and a 200-day moving average of $17.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.49 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Knowles Corporation has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $20.86.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The business had revenue of $132.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.95 million. Knowles had a negative net margin of 38.96% and a positive return on equity of 6.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total transaction of $95,651.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 111,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,919,683.50. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KN. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Knowles Company 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).