Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases New Shares in UL Solutions Inc. $ULS

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund opened a new position in UL Solutions, buying 15,000 shares worth about $1.18 million in the fourth quarter.
• UL Solutions saw notable insider selling, including EVP Alberto Uggetti and insider Gitte Schjotz, with insiders selling 39,100 shares worth about $3.66 million over the last 90 days.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.50 topping estimates and revenue rising 7.5% year over year; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $101.54.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,183,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of UL Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of UL Solutions by 3,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 634 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in UL Solutions by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 864 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in UL Solutions by 253.9% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 6,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $610,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,307 shares in the company, valued at $1,030,700. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gitte Schjotz sold 8,000 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.96, for a total value of $831,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,443,735.16. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 39,100 shares of company stock valued at $3,655,055 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ULS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on UL Solutions from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on UL Solutions from $87.80 to $106.40 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UL Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of UL Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of UL Solutions in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UL Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.54.

UL Solutions Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ULS opened at $98.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. UL Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.64 and a 1 year high of $107.54. The company has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.87, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.68.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.08. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 11.24%.The company had revenue of $758.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. UL Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from UL Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. UL Solutions's payout ratio is currently 33.92%.

About UL Solutions

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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