Argent Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management increased its UL Solutions stake by 53.9% in the first quarter, ending with 76,644 shares valued at approximately $6.57 million. Several other institutional investors also expanded their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: UBS upgraded the stock to “buy,” while six analysts rate it a Buy and five rate it a Hold. The consensus price target is $101.54, above the reported share price of $91.95.
• UL Solutions beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $0.50 per share and revenue of $758 million, with revenue up 7.5% year over year. However, insiders sold 53,205 shares worth about $5.32 million over the past three months.

Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) by 53.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,644 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,828 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in UL Solutions were worth $6,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ULS. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in UL Solutions by 349.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in UL Solutions by 3,070.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 634 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the first quarter worth about $49,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of UL Solutions by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 904 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UL Solutions by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ULS shares. UBS Group upgraded UL Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $100.00 price objective on UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of UL Solutions in a 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UL Solutions news, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $1,240,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 164,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,294,305.28. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 6,100 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,030,700. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 53,205 shares of company stock worth $5,315,675 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UL Solutions Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ULS opened at $91.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $93.61 and its 200 day moving average is $87.22. UL Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.64 and a twelve month high of $107.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $758.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.50 million. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.145 dividend. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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