Knowles Corporation $KN Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Knowles Corporation (NYSE:KN) by 97.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,188 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,520 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.17% of Knowles worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Knowles by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,394,341 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $32,502,000 after buying an additional 1,094,715 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Knowles by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,108,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $119,072,000 after buying an additional 484,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $31,723,000 after buying an additional 470,100 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Knowles in the 4th quarter valued at $6,555,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Knowles by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 634,355 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,594,000 after acquiring an additional 267,400 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Knowles Stock Performance

Shares of KN opened at $36.71 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.68 and a beta of 1.59. Knowles Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.29 and a 12-month high of $42.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Knowles (NYSE:KN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $166.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.97 million. Knowles had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.45%. Knowles’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Knowles has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Knowles Corporation will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $44.00 price target on shares of Knowles in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Knowles in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Knowles from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Knowles from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Knowles from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Knowles currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Knowles

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Niew sold 142,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $4,749,995.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 883,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,383,656.75. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Daniel J. Giesecke sold 20,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $753,901.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 175,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,562,908.60. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 169,236 shares of company stock worth $5,728,034. 2.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.