Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 25,777 Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 25,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter worth $223,000. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at about $377,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 64.8% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.24. 571,700 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 179,596. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion and a PE ratio of 6.81. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a one year low of $19.05 and a one year high of $24.18. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 60.60% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $104.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSDL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $23.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.42.

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.