Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 214,472 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 103,929 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.24% of Knowles worth $4,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Knowles by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Knowles by 835.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Knowles during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Knowles

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Knowles Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE KN traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.48. 514,648 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 685,939. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 1.40. Knowles Co. has a 52-week low of $12.19 and a 52-week high of $20.86.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $132.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share.

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).