Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Position in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Knowles Corporation by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, owning 851,752 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• The stock has received a "buy" rating from Craig Hallum, with a target price increase from $20.00 to $22.00, while other analysts suggest a consensus target price of $21.00.
• Institutional investors hold 96.35% of Knowles Corporation's stock, highlighting significant interest from large financial entities.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 851,752 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.98% of Knowles worth $12,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Knowles during the 4th quarter worth about $28,798,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Knowles by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,611,679 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $24,498,000 after acquiring an additional 386,155 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Knowles in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,581,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Knowles by 38.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,150,158 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 320,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Knowles in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,583,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total transaction of $209,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 62,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,309,524.78. This represents a 13.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KN. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Knowles currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of Knowles stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $21.62. 436,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,444. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $19.62 and a 200-day moving average of $17.35. Knowles Corporation has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $21.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.56 and a beta of 1.50.

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).