Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,007 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after selling 20,511 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Transocean were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Transocean by 53,530.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,109,612 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,543 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Transocean by 3.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 206,501 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,395 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Transocean by 6.1% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 183,137 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Transocean by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,437,572 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock worth $71,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,615 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Transocean by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 29,344 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 14,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Stock Performance

Shares of RIG opened at $3.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 2.73. Transocean Ltd. has a one year low of $3.40 and a one year high of $6.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Transocean to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays raised shares of Transocean from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $4.50 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Transocean from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut Transocean from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.25.

Insider Transactions at Transocean

In other news, EVP Roderick James Mackenzie sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.29, for a total value of $85,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 310,857 shares in the company, valued at $1,333,576.53. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.