Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 428,615 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,510 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.49% of Knowles worth $8,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Knowles by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,475,339 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $169,135,000 after buying an additional 265,814 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Knowles by 33.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,392,668 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,140,000 after acquiring an additional 594,484 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Knowles by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,226,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $44,379,000 after purchasing an additional 54,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Knowles by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,051,346 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,986,000 after purchasing an additional 191,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Knowles by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,018,615 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Knowles Stock Performance

KN opened at $15.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.79 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Knowles Co. has a 52-week low of $15.13 and a 52-week high of $20.86.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Craig Hallum downgraded Knowles from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

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).