T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 552,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,341 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Timken were worth $39,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Timken by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 11,876 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Timken by 221.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 59,716 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Timken by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 60,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,327,000 after buying an additional 13,697 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Timken in the 4th quarter worth $14,460,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Timken by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 107,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,644,000 after buying an additional 22,003 shares during the last quarter. 89.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Timken Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TKR opened at $65.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.31. The Timken Company has a 52-week low of $56.20 and a 52-week high of $94.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Timken (NYSE:TKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.08. Timken had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Timken Company will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Timken Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Timken’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Philip D. Fracassa sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.50, for a total value of $407,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,091.50. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on TKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Timken from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Timken from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Timken from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Timken in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Timken from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.91.

About Timken

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.