First Hawaiian Bank Purchases 18,415 Shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 118.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,007 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,415 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Knowles were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Knowles by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Knowles by 72.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,451 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Knowles by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,869 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Knowles in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Stock Up 0.1%

KN traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 578,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,650. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.28 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Knowles Co. has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $20.86. The stock's 50-day moving average is $15.59 and its 200-day moving average is $17.52.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $132.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.95 million. Knowles had a negative net margin of 34.66% and a positive return on equity of 5.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $95,651.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 111,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,683.50. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on KN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

About Knowles

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).