Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Knowles Corporation by 77.3%, selling 1,831,014 shares and now holds 538,048 shares valued at approximately $8.18 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Knowles, with Versant Capital Management raising its stake by 725.6% in the first quarter.
• Knowles Corporation reported earnings of $0.18 per share for the previous quarter, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue of $132.20 million, slightly above consensus estimates.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 77.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 538,048 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 1,831,014 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.61% of Knowles worth $8,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Knowles by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 149,152 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 38,603 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Knowles by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 428,615 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $8,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,510 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter worth approximately $383,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Knowles by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,446 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,561,358 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $230,418,000 after purchasing an additional 82,827 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Knowles news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the business'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 owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,545 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total transaction of $95,651.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 111,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,683.50. This trade represents a 4.75% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KN. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Knowles Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE KN traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 212,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,539. Knowles Corporation has a 52 week low of $12.19 and a 52 week high of $21.37. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $17.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 70.08 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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).