Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 12,400 Shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in UL Solutions Inc. to 657,200 shares, worth approximately $37.07 million, following a 1.9% rise in their position during the first quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about UL Solutions, with several firms raising their price targets; Wells Fargo increased its target from $65.00 to $77.00 while UBS raised their target from $58.00 to $72.00.
• UL Solutions recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, yielding 0.71%, with a dividend payout ratio of 31.14%.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 657,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.33% of UL Solutions worth $37,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ULS. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in UL Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in UL Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC acquired a new stake in UL Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in UL Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its stake in UL Solutions by 29.7% during the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 6,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of UL Solutions from $60.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up from $60.50) on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UL Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.43.

UL Solutions Stock Up 0.7%

ULS traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.41. 605,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 768,388. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $71.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. UL Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $74.15.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.19 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 40.79%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.14%.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In other UL Solutions news, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.44, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,889 shares in the company, valued at $3,162,194.16. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,961 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $137,270.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $649,950. This trade represents a 17.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

About UL Solutions

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.