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

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Knowles Co. (NYSE:KN) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing 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 quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.09% of Knowles worth $156,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Knowles by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Knowles in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Knowles during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Knowles Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KN opened at $15.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.83. Knowles Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.89 and a fifty-two week high of $20.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.25 and a 200-day moving average of $18.23.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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).