Insider Selling: Knowles (NYSE:KN) CEO Sells 142,857 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Knowles CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 142,857 shares on May 5 at an average price of $33.25 for about $4.75M, reducing his position by 13.92% to 883,719 shares (he also sold 75,000 shares on Feb. 6 at $26.50).
• Q1 results beat expectations: Knowles reported $0.27 EPS vs. $0.24 consensus and revenue of $153.1M (up 15.8% year-over-year), and issued Q2 2026 guidance of $0.280–0.320 EPS.
• Shares trade near their 1‑year high (~$34.09 midday) with a market cap of ~$2.92B and a P/E of ~53; analyst coverage is mixed (consensus "Hold" with a $33.33 target, while some firms raised targets to $38–$39).

Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 142,857 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $4,749,995.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 883,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,383,656.75. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jeffrey Niew also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 6th, Jeffrey Niew sold 75,000 shares of Knowles stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total transaction of $1,987,500.00.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KN traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.09. 458,421 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 714,694. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.50 and a 200 day moving average of $24.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.26 and a beta of 1.56. Knowles Corporation has a 1 year low of $16.09 and a 1 year high of $34.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 3.27.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $153.10 million during 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 company posted $0.18 EPS. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Knowles from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Knowles currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Knowles

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Knowles by 0.6% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 76,098 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Knowles by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 1.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,669 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Knowles by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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