JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 96,544 Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 334.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,416 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,544 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.14% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSDL. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $1,780,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth $1,555,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth $295,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $392,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MSDL opened at $19.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $24.18. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.41.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company 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%. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.