First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) by 14.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,213,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197,871 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in UL Solutions were worth $103,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULS. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 1,299.3% during the fourth quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC now owns 1,399,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,273 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,740,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,188 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in UL Solutions by 272.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,460,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,194 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UL Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,719,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in UL Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,002,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at UL Solutions

In other UL Solutions news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 6,100 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Karen K. Pepping sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.74, for a total value of $70,861.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,934.68. This trade represents a 8.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,705 shares of company stock worth $6,460,300. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on UL Solutions from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of UL Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.54.

UL Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ULS opened at $85.60 on Friday. UL Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.64 and a twelve month high of $107.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.95.

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

UL Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. UL Solutions’s dividend 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.