Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Stock Holdings in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its position in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) by 16.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 177,147 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after selling 35,762 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Transocean were worth $948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,982,142 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $433,208,000 after buying an additional 429,950 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Transocean by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 402,839 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $2,530,000 after buying an additional 175,130 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Transocean by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,437,730 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $9,029,000 after buying an additional 49,800 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Transocean in the 1st quarter worth about $1,521,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Transocean by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 382,362 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 260,710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:RIG opened at $4.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.55 and a 200-day moving average of $5.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 2.79. Transocean Ltd. has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $7.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,476,695.62. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Perestroika purchased 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.13 per share, with a total value of $6,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 91,074,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,139,312.22. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika acquired 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.23 per share, for a total transaction of $10,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RIG shares. Citigroup cut Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Transocean from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark cut Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DNB Markets upgraded Transocean from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.88.

Transocean 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.