Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Invests $352,000 in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,434,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,051,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,819,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,110,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 2,953.8% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 104,501 shares of the company's stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 101,079 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.53. 562,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,888. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.43. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.79%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.10.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.