Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Invests $677,000 in UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in shares of UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE:ULS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ULS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UL Solutions by 653.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in UL Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $163,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of UL Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $278,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of UL Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $376,000.

Insider Activity at UL Solutions

In related news, EVP Alberto Uggetti sold 1,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ULS. Citigroup upped their target price on UL Solutions from $60.00 to $60.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of UL Solutions from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on UL Solutions from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.45.

UL Solutions Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE ULS opened at $57.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.95 and a 200-day moving average of $52.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. UL Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.15 and a 1-year high of $59.23. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion and a PE ratio of 35.25.

UL Solutions (NYSE:ULS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.11. UL Solutions had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 44.52%. The company had revenue of $739.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $726.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UL Solutions Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

UL Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from UL Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. UL Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 32.10%.

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.