Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.92 Million in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in UL Solutions during the first quarter, buying 22,400 shares valued at about $1.92 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated stakes in ULS, highlighting continued institutional interest in the stock.
• UL Solutions reported better-than-expected quarterly results and recently paid a dividend, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $101.54.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,920,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ULS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in UL Solutions by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,550,913 shares of the company's stock worth $125,484,000 after buying an additional 167,564 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in UL Solutions by 543.1% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 192,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,213,000 after buying an additional 162,915 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 9,024.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 337,881 shares of the company's stock worth $26,645,000 after buying an additional 334,178 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $2,484,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UL Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,646,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UL Solutions news, CEO Jennifer F. Scanlon sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.57, for a total value of $1,144,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 188,274 shares in the company, valued at $17,240,250.18. The trade was a 6.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen K. Pepping sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.74, for a total value of $70,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,934.68. The trade was a 8.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 53,205 shares of company stock valued at $5,220,050 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ULS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UL Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of UL Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded UL Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on UL Solutions in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.54.

UL Solutions Price Performance

NYSE ULS opened at $101.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.72. UL Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.64 and a 52-week high of $107.54.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $758.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.50 million. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.1 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 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. UL Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 33.92%.

UL Solutions 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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