Knowles Corporation $KN Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Knowles Corporation by 1.2%, owning approximately 13.13% of the company after selling over 137,000 shares, valued at around $173.6 million.
• Other institutional investors, including PNC Financial Services Group and Meeder Asset Management, increased their positions in Knowles, indicating ongoing interest in the stock.
• Research analysts have recently boosted their price targets for Knowles, with Robert W. Baird and others raising their forecasts, suggesting a positive outlook for the company.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,423,472 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 137,886 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.13% of Knowles worth $173,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 436,464 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 66,202 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 46.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,881 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,445 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 5,825 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 2.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 436,486 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $6,635,000 after acquiring an additional 9,418 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KN traded up $1.2590 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.6090. 750,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 718,933. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.16. Knowles Corporation has a 1-year low of $12.19 and a 1-year high of $21.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.52 and a beta of 1.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Knowles news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total transaction of $209,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 62,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,524.78. The trade was a 13.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 66,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,362,319.44. This represents a 45.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Knowles from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Knowles from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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).