William Blair Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,468,974 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,736 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 2.71% of Knowles worth $44,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KN. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Knowles by 16.5% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 82,435 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 11,686 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 13.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 27,587 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,297 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 57.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 48,592 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 17,641 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 1.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 258,981 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 13.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 79,152 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 9,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of Knowles from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Knowles from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KN opened at $16.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.55 and a 200 day moving average of $16.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Knowles Co. has a 52 week low of $12.78 and a 52 week high of $20.25.

Insider Transactions at Knowles

In other news, SVP Raymond D. Cabrera sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.42, for a total transaction of $77,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 84,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,394.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.65% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Profile

Knowles Corporation offers micro-acoustic microphones and balanced armature speakers, audio solutions, high performance capacitors, and radio frequency products for the consumer electronics, medtech, defense, electric vehicle, industrial, and communications markets. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM).