Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 367,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,345,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.18% of UL Solutions at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in UL Solutions by 1.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 269,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,292,000 after buying an additional 124,116 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UL Solutions by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 600,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,639,000 after buying an additional 213,635 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Chad R raised its stake in UL Solutions by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 112,300 shares of the company's stock worth $5,602,000 after acquiring an additional 53,500 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at UL Solutions

In related news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,938 shares of UL Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $102,714.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,285 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

UL Solutions Price Performance

Shares of UL Solutions stock traded down $1.35 on Friday, hitting $56.53. The company had a trading volume of 103,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,789. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion and a PE ratio of 34.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. UL Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.50 and a 52 week high of $62.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.96.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.11. UL Solutions had a return on equity of 44.52% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $739.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.54 million. Research analysts expect that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from UL Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. UL Solutions's payout ratio is 32.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ULS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on UL Solutions from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on UL Solutions from $60.00 to $60.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.45.

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.