Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Invests $443,000 in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 21,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,850,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,192,000 after buying an additional 70,076 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 377.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 123,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 97,893 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,599,000. ASB Consultores LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $1,555,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of MSDL opened at $21.42 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $19.05 and a 52-week high of $24.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.43%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company Profile

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.