Eagle Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 554,148 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 104,750 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.63% of Knowles worth $10,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KN. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Knowles in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Knowles by 114.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Knowles during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Knowles by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Knowles Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of KN traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.93. The company had a trading volume of 433,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.69. Knowles Co. has a 52 week low of $14.97 and a 52 week high of $19.73.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $142.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.97 million. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.16% and a negative net margin of 27.53%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other news, Director Cheryl L. Shavers sold 12,579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total transaction of $217,490.91. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $846,051.57. This trade represents a 20.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,762 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total transaction of $73,208.52. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 61,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,200,312.26. The trade was a 5.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 201,845 shares of company stock worth $3,774,234. Corporate insiders own 2.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th.

Knowles 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).