Northern Trust Corp Decreases Stock Position in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Knowles Corporation by 2.2%, selling 22,054 shares and now holding approximately 994,381 shares valued at $15,115,000.
• A group of hedge funds, including Versant Capital Management Inc and Meeder Asset Management Inc, made notable changes to their holdings in Knowles, with Versant increasing its position by 725.6%.
• Analyst ratings for Knowles include a downgrade from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" by Wall Street Zen, while Craig Hallum increased the price target to $22.00, indicating ongoing interest in the stock.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 994,381 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 22,054 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.14% of Knowles worth $15,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 47.0% in 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. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on KN. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

Knowles stock opened at $20.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Knowles Corporation has a 1-year low of $12.19 and a 1-year high of $21.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.36 and a beta of 1.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.55 and its 200 day moving average is $17.33.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other Knowles news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 62,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,309,524.78. The trade was a 13.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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. This trade represents 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.

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).

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