William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 93,772 Shares of Knowles Corporation $KN

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,546,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 93,772 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.82% of Knowles worth $36,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Knowles by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,387 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,340,000 after buying an additional 469,286 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in shares of Knowles during the third quarter valued at $8,535,000. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,977,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Knowles in the 1st quarter worth about $3,335,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Knowles by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 415,366 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 186,536 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 15,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.22, for a total transaction of $432,389.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 164,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,490,292.86. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith Barnes sold 41,048 shares of Knowles stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.16, for a total transaction of $1,114,863.68. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 298,742 shares of company stock worth $7,737,280. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on KN shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Knowles from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Knowles in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.67.

Knowles Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:KN opened at $27.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Knowles Corporation has a 12 month low of $12.19 and a 12 month high of $28.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.25.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $162.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.23 million. Knowles had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 7.45%.The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Knowles has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.220-0.260 EPS.

Knowles Company Profile

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.