Primecap Management Co. CA Has $170.66 Million Stock Position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has reduced its stake in Transocean Ltd. by 1.8%, now holding approximately 53.8 million shares worth $170.7 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Pictet Asset Management and Wells Fargo, have increased their holdings in Transocean during the fourth quarter, reflecting strong interest in the company.
• Analysts have mixed views on Transocean, with price targets ranging from $3.50 to $5.00, leading to an average rating of "Hold" from equity researchers.

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,836,071 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock after selling 980,340 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 6.10% of Transocean worth $170,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Transocean by 154.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Transocean by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 8,400 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Transocean during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Transocean in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Transocean in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Transocean

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 340,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $947,537.98. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.27% of the company's stock.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,245,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,521,492. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Transocean Ltd. has a one year low of $1.97 and a one year high of $5.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 2.52. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $2.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Transocean from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Transocean from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. BTIG Research set a $5.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Transocean from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.20.

Transocean Company Profile

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.