Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 96,544 Shares of Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. sold 96,544 shares of Knowles Corporation, reducing its holdings by 7.1% to approximately 1.45% of the company, valued at $19.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including PNC Financial Services Group and Meeder Asset Management, increased their stakes in Knowles during the first quarter, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Knowles, with price targets ranging from $20 to $22, reflecting positive outlooks for the company's performance.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,264,028 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 96,544 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.45% of Knowles worth $19,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 725.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Knowles by 47.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in Knowles during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Knowles during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,319.44. This represents a 45.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total transaction of $209,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 62,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. This trade represents a 13.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on KN shares. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Knowles presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Up 0.1%

Knowles stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.48. 133,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,201. 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's 50 day moving average is $19.07 and its 200 day moving average is $17.20. Knowles Corporation has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $21.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.02 and a beta of 1.45.

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).