William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Knowles Corporation $KN

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management acquired 494,516 Knowles shares worth approximately $20.5 million, representing about 0.58% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.35% of Knowles.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with Knowles carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $40.67. Recent actions included upgrades from Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research.
• Knowles exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.33 in EPS and $166.8 million in revenue, with revenue rising 14.3% year over year. However, insiders have sold 32,997 shares worth about $1.24 million over the past three months.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 494,516 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,513,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.58% of Knowles at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Knowles by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,151 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 0.6% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 76,098 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Knowles by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Knowles by 5.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,137 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Knowles by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 53,002 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Knowles from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 price objective on Knowles in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Knowles from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.67.

Knowles Stock Performance

NYSE KN opened at $33.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.83. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.18 and a beta of 1.60. Knowles Corporation has a 1-year low of $20.50 and a 1-year high of $42.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Knowles had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 10.63%.The company had revenue of $166.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Knowles's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Knowles Corporation will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In other Knowles news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total value of $753,901.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 175,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,562,908.60. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 6,618 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,402,842.21. This represents a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,997 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,928. Insiders own 2.24% of the company's stock.

About Knowles

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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