Knowles Corporation $KN Shares Sold by Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its holdings in Knowles Corporation by 2.8%, now owning about 991,041 shares valued at approximately $15.06 million.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their stakes, including Bank of America, which raised its stake by 17.9%, now totaling 436,464 shares.
• Knowles' stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $21.00 after recent changes in analyst ratings.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC trimmed its position in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 991,041 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 28,243 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 1.14% of Knowles worth $15,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KN. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 725.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the first quarter worth $106,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:KN traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 382,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,044. Knowles Corporation has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $21.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.81 and a beta of 1.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction 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 owned 66,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. This trade represents a 45.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 62,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. This trade represents a 13.79% 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 research firms recently commented on KN. Wall Street Zen cut Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Knowles has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.00.

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).