UL Solutions Inc. $ULS Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) by 50.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,855 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in UL Solutions were worth $1,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,681,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in UL Solutions by 405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 593,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,054,000 after purchasing an additional 476,121 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in UL Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $97,803,000. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in UL Solutions in the third quarter valued at $24,627,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $1,436,000.

UL Solutions Stock Down 2.5%

UL Solutions stock opened at $78.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.26. UL Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $91.95. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 49.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.37 million. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 10.61%.UL Solutions’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from UL Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. UL Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ULS. Zacks Research lowered UL Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on UL Solutions to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on UL Solutions from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut UL Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.50.

About UL Solutions

UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) is a global safety science company that provides testing, inspection, certification, advisory and digital solutions designed to help organizations manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance and drive innovation. With roots dating back to 1894 when it was founded as Underwriters’ Electrical Bureau, the company rebranded as UL Solutions following its initial public offering in 2022. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, UL Solutions operates independently to serve a broad range of industries with an emphasis on product safety, performance and sustainability.

The company’s core services include standards development, product testing and certification for sectors such as building products, consumer electronics, automotive, life sciences, energy and industrial equipment.