Muzinich & Co. Inc. Acquires 101,079 Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 2,953.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,501 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 101,079 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending comprises about 1.4% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned 0.12% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $213,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $258,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSDL stock traded up $0.18 on Monday, hitting $20.42. 1,060,028 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,986. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $20.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.48. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a one year low of $19.28 and a one year high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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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). The company had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.79%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.38.

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.