Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,623,299 Shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,852,040 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 1,623,299 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 8.92% of Knowles worth $156,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Knowles by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Knowles by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,451 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Knowles by 66.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,869 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Knowles in the 4th quarter valued at about $194,000. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knowles during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Knowles from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday.

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Knowles Price Performance

Knowles stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $12.84. The company had a trading volume of 272,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,125. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.18. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Knowles Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.08 and a fifty-two week high of $20.86.

Knowles (NYSE:KN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $142.50 million during the quarter. Knowles had a positive return on equity of 5.52% and a negative net margin of 34.66%.

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).