Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 367,774 UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 367,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,345,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.18% of UL Solutions at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ULS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 29.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,516,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 127.4% during the third quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 1,137,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,058,000 after acquiring an additional 637,077 shares during the last quarter. Port Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UL Solutions during the third quarter worth about $25,675,000. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 136.7% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 710,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,003,000 after acquiring an additional 410,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 133.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,510,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter.

UL Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ULS opened at $52.34 on Tuesday. UL Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.15 and a 12-month high of $59.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion and a PE ratio of 32.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.11. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 44.52% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $739.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.54 million. As a group, analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from UL Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. UL Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ULS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on UL Solutions from $60.00 to $60.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on UL Solutions from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on UL Solutions from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at UL Solutions

In other news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $102,714.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $492,105. This represents a 17.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

UL Solutions Company Profile

UL Solutions Inc provides safety science services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Consumer, and Software and Advisory. The Industrial segment provides testing, inspection, and certification services across various end markets, including energy, industrial automation, engineered materials, and built environment, as well as stakeholders, such as manufacturers, building owners, end users, and regulators.