Bank of America Corp DE Sells 294,386 Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 897,316 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock after selling 294,386 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.10% of Transocean worth $3,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 96.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,841 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 4,826 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in shares of Transocean in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RIG traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.75. 49,590,944 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,749,466. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 2.52. Transocean Ltd. has a 12 month low of $1.97 and a 12 month high of $6.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $906.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.92 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 14.53% and a negative return on equity of 0.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RIG shares. SEB Equity Research set a $2.80 price objective on shares of Transocean in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BTIG Research set a $5.00 target price on shares of Transocean and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.58.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of Transocean stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.78, for a total transaction of $61,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 340,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $947,537.98. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 12.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters.