Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Knowles Corporation $KN

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Knowles worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 725.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,643 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Knowles by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,703 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Knowles in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Knowles

In related news, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.94, for a total value of $209,400.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 56,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.47, for a total transaction of $1,148,981.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 66,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,319.44. The trade was a 45.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Knowles Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of NYSE KN opened at $21.6090 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.52 and a beta of 1.45. Knowles Corporation has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

About Knowles

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).