The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR - Free Report) by 40.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,823 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Timken were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Timken in the fourth quarter worth about $1,459,000. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Timken by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 204,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,443,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC purchased a new stake in Timken during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Timken during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Timken during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Institutional investors own 89.08% of the company's stock.

Timken Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:TKR traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.50. The stock had a trading volume of 478,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,637. The Timken Company has a one year low of $65.71 and a one year high of $95.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.93 and a 200 day moving average of $78.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Timken (NYSE:TKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.15. Timken had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Timken's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Timken Company will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Timken Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Timken's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TKR. StockNews.com downgraded Timken from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded Timken from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Timken in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Timken in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Timken in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Timken presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Timken Profile

The Timken Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered bearings and industrial motion products, and related services in the United States and internationally. The company's Engineered Bearings segment provides various bearing products, including tapered, spherical, and cylindrical roller bearings; plain bearings, metal-polymer bearings, and rod end bearings; radial, angular, and precision ball bearings; thrust and specialty ball bearings; journal bearings; and housed or mounted bearings.