31,533 Knowles Corporation $KN Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,764 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 31,533 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Knowles were worth $103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Knowles during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $571,614,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,698,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Knowles by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 217,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,582,000 after acquiring an additional 86,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,158,000. Finally, Andar Capital Management HK Ltd purchased a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,853,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other Knowles news, Director Cheryl Shavers sold 6,618 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $259,888.86. Following the sale, the director owned 35,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,842.21. This represents a 15.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KN shares. Weiss Ratings cut Knowles from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Knowles from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price target on Knowles in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knowles has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Knowles Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE KN opened at $32.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 1.59. Knowles Corporation has a 12-month low of $20.57 and a 12-month high of $42.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Knowles had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The business had revenue of $184.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.10 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Knowles Corporation will post 1.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Knowles Profile

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components and solutions for audio, communications, medical, industrial and other specialized applications. The company develops products that support sound capture, audio processing, signal management and high-performance connectivity in a range of electronic devices and systems.

Its portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, audio processors, speakers, receivers, balanced armature drivers and other acoustic components.