Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Knowles Corporation by 3.7%, owning 2,592,223 shares valued at $39.4 million after acquiring an additional 92,792 shares.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their positions in Knowles, with institutional investors owning 96.35% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Knowles, with a target price increase from $20.00 to $22.00 by Craig Hallum, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a "buy" rating.

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,592,223 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 92,792 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.98% of Knowles worth $39,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Knowles by 725.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Knowles by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Knowles has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of KN traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.41. The stock had a trading volume of 60,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 714,390. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.82 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. Knowles Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $12.19 and a fifty-two week high of $21.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In related news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total value of $209,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 62,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. The trade was a 13.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total transaction of $1,148,981.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).