Geode Capital Management LLC Has $101.17 Million Holdings in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,282,676 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,660 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UL Solutions were worth $101,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,740,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,188 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,548,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,738,000 after purchasing an additional 738,720 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,942,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,394,000 after purchasing an additional 674,088 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 405.7% in 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 period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in UL Solutions by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,137,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,594,000 after purchasing an additional 414,363 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of UL Solutions from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of UL Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of UL Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,307 shares in the company, valued at $1,030,700. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.57, for a total transaction of $1,144,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 188,274 shares in the company, valued at $17,240,250.18. This represents a 6.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 64,980 shares of company stock valued at $6,217,938 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UL Solutions Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:ULS opened at $96.80 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. UL Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $61.64 and a one year high of $107.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of 56.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.63.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.08. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $758.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $748.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.145 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. UL Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 33.92%.

UL Solutions Company Profile

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.