Keeley Teton Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Knowles Corporation by 27.2% during the first quarter, now owning 125,671 shares valued at approximately $1.91 million.
• Other hedge funds also boosted their positions in Knowles, with Bank of America Corp DE increasing its stake by 17.9% and Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. by 46.2% during the same period.
• The company's stock has seen increased analyst interest, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00 according to recent reports.

Keeley Teton Advisors LLC raised its stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,671 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,837 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Knowles worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 47.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the first quarter worth about $106,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Stock Performance

NYSE:KN traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.33. The company had a trading volume of 398,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,754. Knowles Corporation has a 1-year low of $12.19 and a 1-year high of $21.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 73.54 and a beta of 1.50. The business's 50 day moving average price is $19.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 62,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,309,524.78. This represents a 13.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum boosted 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. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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).