LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 96.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,164 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,552 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $229,000. Sfmg LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $2,864,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $352,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,117 shares of the company's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $3,434,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Up 0.4 %

MSDL traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.38. 82,039 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 654,154. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $17.59 and a 52 week high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.06). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. The firm had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.02 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.30%.

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.