Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Timken Co (NYSE:TKR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

According to Zacks, “The Timken Company engineers, manufactures and markets bearings, transmissions, gearboxes, belts, chain and related products, and offers a spectrum of powertrain rebuild and repair services. The leading authority on tapered roller bearings, Timken today applies its deep knowledge of metallurgy, tribology and mechanical power transmission across a variety of bearings and related systems to improve reliability and efficiency of machinery and equipment all around the world. The company’s growing product and services portfolio features many strong industrial brands including Timken, Fafnir, Philadelphia Gear, Carlisle, Drives and Interlube. “

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC restated a hold rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Timken in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Timken from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc upgraded shares of Timken from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $44.38.

Shares of Timken (NYSE:TKR) opened at 48.25 on Wednesday. Timken has a 12-month low of $28.72 and a 12-month high of $51.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.69 and a 200-day moving average of $41.43.

Timken (NYSE:TKR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.12. Timken had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $703.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Timken will post $2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Ward J. Timken, Jr. sold 48,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.12, for a total transaction of $2,169,053.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 346,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,617,972.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William R. Burkhart sold 29,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.49, for a total transaction of $1,343,865.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,968,670.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,159 shares of company stock worth $3,804,623. 10.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TKR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Timken by 65.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 87,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after buying an additional 34,500 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Timken by 5.0% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 366,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,567,000 after buying an additional 17,490 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Timken by 1.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 24,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Timken by 9.7% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 7,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Timken by 174.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 101,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after buying an additional 64,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.87% of the company’s stock.

Timken Company Profile

The Timken Company engineers, manufactures and markets bearings, transmissions, gearboxes, belts, chain, couplings and related products and offers a spectrum of power system rebuild and repair services across the world. The Company operates through two segments: Mobile Industries and Process Industries.