Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires Shares of 36,948 Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,948 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Transocean by 138.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,633 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Transocean during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Transocean during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Transocean by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 15,877 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Transocean news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total transaction of $85,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 310,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,333,576.53. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of RIG stock opened at $3.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Transocean Ltd. has a twelve month low of $3.40 and a twelve month high of $6.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 2.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on RIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Transocean in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Transocean from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Transocean from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $4.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.25.

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.