First Hawaiian Bank Grows Stake in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Knowles Corporation by 118.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 34,007 shares valued at approximately $517,000.
• Multiple large investors, including Ariel Investments and Allspring Global Investments, have also boosted their stakes in Knowles, with institutional investors now holding 96.35% of the stock.
• Knowles Corporation's stock has a current price of $22.15, with analysts rating it as a "Moderate Buy." The consensus target price for the stock is set at $21.00.

First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 118.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,007 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 18,415 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Knowles were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Knowles by 725.6% during the 1st 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 period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Knowles by 47.0% during the 1st 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 period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Knowles during the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,000. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in Knowles during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Knowles during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In related news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 value 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 trade represents a 13.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total value of $1,148,981.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 2.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on KN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.00.

Knowles Price Performance

Shares of KN traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,868,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,439. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.84 and a beta of 1.50. Knowles Corporation has a 1-year low of $12.19 and a 1-year high of $23.03.

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).