Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 21,966 Shares of Knowles Corporation $KN

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 470.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,638 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,966 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Knowles were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Knowles by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $119,072,000 after buying an additional 484,500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Knowles by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,806,916 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,152,000 after acquiring an additional 205,573 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 5.6% during the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 1,421,713 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,140,000 after acquiring an additional 75,367 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 365.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,394,341 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,360,918 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $31,723,000 after acquiring an additional 470,100 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In related news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $753,901.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 175,855 shares in the company, valued at $6,562,908.60. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Air A. Jr. Bastarrica sold 3,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.91, for a total transaction of $111,986.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 47,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,470,357.79. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 173,058 shares of company stock valued at $5,809,156. Company insiders own 2.24% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Price Performance

KN opened at $40.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 63.32 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.28. Knowles Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.34 and a 52-week high of $42.93.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $153.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 9.10%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. Knowles has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.280-0.320 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Knowles Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on KN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Knowles from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation (NYSE: KN) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced micro-acoustic, audio processing and precision device solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, balanced armature receivers, acoustic filters, and custom audio processing integrated circuits. These solutions are designed to enable clear speech, enhanced voice capture and intelligent audio performance in a variety of end markets.

Founded in 1946, Knowles has evolved from its roots in vacuum tube components to become a pure-play audio technology provider following its spin-off from Dover Corporation in 2014.