LM Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

LM Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,856 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending were worth $450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 4.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 38,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 25,969 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000.

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Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 0.7 %

MSDL traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.02. 568,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 652,909. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.53. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $19.28 and a 12-month high of $24.18. 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 (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.06). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.02 million. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.99%. 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 decreased 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 research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.38.

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.