Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $661,000 Position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UL Solutions by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,573,695 shares of the company's stock worth $278,016,000 after acquiring an additional 401,492 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its stake in UL Solutions by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 87,609 shares of the company's stock worth $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 45,595 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in UL Solutions by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,516,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 114,721 shares of the company's stock worth $5,722,000 after buying an additional 18,019 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $332,000.

UL Solutions Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ULS traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.52. The stock had a trading volume of 776,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,697. UL Solutions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.87 and a fifty-two week high of $72.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.73. The company has a market cap of $14.34 billion and a P/E ratio of 44.15.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 44.52% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.19 million. UL Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,938 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $102,714.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,105. This trade represents a 17.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 now owns 46,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,162,194.16. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,899 shares of company stock worth $712,064 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ULS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on UL Solutions from $60.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on UL Solutions from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James upped their target price on UL Solutions from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $60.50) on shares of UL Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UL Solutions from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.43.

UL Solutions 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.