Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,369,062 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 252,564 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 2.69% of Knowles worth $47,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Knowles by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,392,668 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $43,140,000 after purchasing an additional 594,484 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Knowles by 64.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,092,161 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $19,692,000 after buying an additional 426,214 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Knowles in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,243,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Knowles by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,475,339 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $169,135,000 after acquiring an additional 265,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Knowles by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,051,346 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,986,000 after acquiring an additional 191,383 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Knowles Price Performance

NYSE:KN traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.92. The company had a trading volume of 516,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,895. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Knowles Co. has a 52-week low of $14.97 and a 52-week high of $20.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KN. StockNews.com lowered shares of Knowles from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Craig Hallum upgraded Knowles to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Knowles from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert J. Perna sold 21,080 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.56, for a total transaction of $370,164.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 66,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,160,066.28. This trade represents a 24.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,762 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.46, for a total value of $73,208.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 61,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,200,312.26. This trade represents a 5.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 182,541 shares of company stock valued at $3,436,500 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.65% of the company's stock.

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).