Confluence Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 169,915 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,583,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Knowles at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KN. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,401 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,622,000 after acquiring an additional 112,354 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Knowles by 173.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,838 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 10,038 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 66.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,869 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 275,317 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $5,487,000 after acquiring an additional 5,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of KN stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $16.41. The stock had a trading volume of 701,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,971. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.56. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -6.19 and a beta of 1.40. Knowles Co. has a one year low of $12.19 and a one year high of $20.86.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The company had revenue of $132.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.95 million. Knowles had a negative net margin of 34.66% and a positive return on equity of 5.52%. Knowles's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KN shares. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other Knowles news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $95,651.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 111,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,683.50. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company's stock.

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).