Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Position in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its Knowles stake by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 317,735 shares and ending with 1.85 million shares valued at about $39.7 million.
• Knowles reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.27 versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $153.1 million versus $147.4 million expected, up 15.8% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains moderately bullish, with a consensus price target of $33.33, while the stock recently traded around $36.66 after touching a 52-week high of $37.08.

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,851,215 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 317,735 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 2.17% of Knowles worth $39,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Knowles by 94.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Knowles in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Knowles in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Knowles by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S raised its position in Knowles by 600.0% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 3,500 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KN. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.33.

Knowles Stock Performance

NYSE KN opened at $36.66 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.03. Knowles Corporation has a twelve month low of $16.09 and a twelve month high of $37.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 57.28 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $153.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.40 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 9.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 9,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $257,081.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,623 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total value of $111,986.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 47,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,357.79. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 162,078 shares of company stock worth $5,312,336 in the last three months. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Knowles Company Profile

Knowles Corporation NYSE: KN is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company's product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.

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