Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 3,895,880 Shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,393,873 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,895,880 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.76% of Transocean worth $57,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean in the second quarter worth about $412,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 404.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,459 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 48,479 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Transocean by 36.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,065 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 4,529 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Transocean by 63.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 290,993 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 112,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Transocean by 35.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 135,071 shares of the offshore drilling services provider's stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 35,071 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Transocean Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of RIG traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,855,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,698,626. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average of $4.24. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.70. Transocean Ltd. has a 1 year low of $3.40 and a 1 year high of $6.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on RIG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Transocean in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Transocean from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $5.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised Transocean from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Transocean currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $84,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 313,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,327.20. This trade represents a 6.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 13.16% of the company's stock.

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.